The Return of the Sun
by mangazgal
Summary: Isaac and his friends thought that they only had to deal with four lighthouses. They were wrong. Chapter 7 up-Appearances. "Appearances can be deceiving" is more than just a cliche. [Takes place during TLA from Isaac and his friends POV]
1. Prelude RECOMMENCEMENT

The Return of the Sun:

A Sequel to Golden Sun

**Disclaimer:** Golden Sun and everything related to it belong to Nintendo, to Camelot, and to whomever else legally and rightfully own it. However, I own certain parts of this fanfic. The plot of the sequel, original characters, and anything not created/revealed in the GS game belongs to me. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of my imagination or are randomly created on the spot. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. (Longest disclaimer you'll ever see out of me.) __

_"The first step is always the hardest"-anonymous_

Prelude. RECOMMENCEMENT

The Eastern Sea was a place that was normally crowded with so many trading ships, fishing ships, and pirate ships that it was difficult to even see the seawater. However, after the legendary Venus Lighthouse was lit, the sea was oddly quiet of any activities. The waves had been extraordinarily rough after the sudden explosion of golden light atop the lighthouse, and few dared to travel far out on the sea at such a strange time. There was, however, one crew that was daring enough to face the sea. Their ship was not rough and weatherworn, either, from years of harsh weather and dangers, but rather it was a sleek work of art that seemed to be granting the sea a favor by gracing its waters with her beauty. On the head of the fair ship was the lifelike and realistic carving of a fierce, roaring dragon, eyes glowering with jaws opened in a voiceless roar to terrify foolhardy ships that dared to enter its path, if there were any such ships left at sea to frighten. Glimmering in a soft afterglow as the last fingertips of the setting sun brushed against the smooth polished wood, the ship sailed steadily towards the east.

Facing the east was a golden-haired, blue-eyed boy, staring emotionlessly out into the horizon. There was nothing to see for the Eastern Sea was empty of everything but the endless silver water. The sea was nothing like what Kraden had told him about. At first, the sea had struck against the ship mercilessly as if it was nothing but a mere floating toy, the wind whipping ferociously around him and his companions. Yet, after a few hours, the crashing waves mysteriously calmed down to gentle waves, and the fierce wind had calmed down to a soft breeze. Compared to their travels and the monsters they had fought, sailing on the open sea was dull. He had at first been excited to sail on the sea, but now he was already tired of it. He sighed softly as he leaned against the ship.

"Is something bothering you, Isaac?" asked a blue-haired maiden at the wheel, the concern evident in her voice as she watched him. 

Isaac shook his head wordlessly as he continued to gaze across the sea.

Ivan, the purple-eyed wind mage, shook his head with a sigh from atop his perch above the cabin where he had been watching the setting sun and feeling the sea breeze. He was bored as well, and he could not help but to watch the exchange between Isaac and the girl. He caught the look on the girl's face, noticing that although Isaac did not want her to worry, his silence was only worrying her more. He could not stand it. How could Isaac be so clueless? To think that their leader, the calm, although slow, decision-maker, was such a fool to girls. He leaped off his perch, feeling the wind swirl around him gently, allowing him to land onto the deck softly.

"Do not worry, Mia. Isaac is just feeling a little restless out here in the open sea," Ivan reassured the girl confidently, as if he could read Isaac's mind.

Isaac frowned at Ivan as the boy smoothed out his purple tunic and straightened his green and yellow vest-like top. Ivan knew his feelings perfectly; then again, he could expect nothing less from the psychic boy. He may have been the youngest of the group, but he was probably one of the most powerful Jupiter mage on the Angara and Gondowan continents combined.

_"You flatter me Isaac, but your thoughts were strong enough to almost knock me over. You were silently screaming, 'Mind Read me, damn it!' Any simple Jupiter mage could have pick up your thoughts,"_ Ivan's voice spoke within his head.

Isaac glowered at Ivan, who only blinked his large purple eyes innocently at him. "Stupid mage," Isaac muttered to himself, while Ivan just smirked.

"I feel restless out on this sea, as well," Mia said softly, causing Isaac and Ivan to turn and look at her in surprise. 

"Mia, I thought you would have loved being out on the sea, especially because you are a Mercury Adept," Ivan said.

"I do," Mia agreed. "I love the sea, but… the sea here is quite different. Back home at Imil, I could always hear the sea's crashing waves or the sea birds crying. I have heard tales of the fierce waves of the Great Eastern Sea, but now that I am here, it turned out to be quite different. I feel as if we are still on land."

"Speak for yourself," a voice groaned from behind the group. "I do not feel like I am on land at all. I can feel myself rise and fall, and worse of all, I feel sick."

"Why, Garet, I believe you are seasick," Mia said amusingly, as she turned to see the brown-haired Mars Adept.

Isaac turned to see his best friend Garet leaning against the railing, who really was looking a little green. The two of them had been best friends for pretty much all of their 17 years, but the two were like night and day. While Isaac preferred to keep his feelings to himself, at least before Ivan decided to reveal them to the world, Garet would have made no hesitation to make his thoughts known. His tendency to speak before thinking tended to get him into trouble, while Isaac would tend to think too much before he spoke. It was strange how two people with conflicting nature could get along so well, but they supported each other despite their clashing personalities.

Garet ran his hand through his spikes, his brown eyes flashing with impatience. "I don't know how you can stand this. It is so quiet and empty here, it is almost as if we are in a graveyard. I wish there was something to do besides just watching the waves."

"If you are feeling sick, you should not watch the waves," Mia advised Garet. "You should look far off into the distance, like the horizon."

"Or," Ivan said with a small smile, "you could always come join us and say farewell to Angara and Gondowan for the last time. In a few more hours, it will be dark, and by the time we wake up tomorrow, we will no longer be able to see land any longer."

Ivan's words brought an uneasy silence upon the members of the boat. Although the four of them had been traveling around the continents for quite awhile and had not been home for a long time, there was something different about sailing away from their homes. It was as if in the very bottom of their hearts, they had hoped that their traveling would end after reaching Venus Lighthouse. Yet, any hopes of reaching the end of their travels were soon gone. Although Saturos and Menardi were destroyed, and Felix presumed dead, or at least missing, Isaac and Garet had not found their childhood friend, Jenna. They could not put their guards down, either, because Alex was still somewhere out there, and they had no idea what he could be up to.

"We've been traveling for so long, and yet it feels like we've only just begun," Ivan said, repeating what he had said before the four stepped onto the Lemurian ship.

Garet nodded silently in agreement. "To imagine that we have traveled all across Angara and Gondowan to finally come here, the Great Eastern Sea."

"It has been so long since I have been home. I wonder how my students are…" Mia wondered wistfully.

"And how Master Hammet and Lady Layana are…" Ivan said sadly.

"Stop it!" Garet exclaimed, causing the others to look at him in surprise. He blinked his eyes rapidly. "Let's talk about happier things," he said hastily.

Mia smiled understandingly. "Of course. We have much to look forward to on this trip."

"Yes, we will be able to visit Lemuria," Ivan grinned. "I wonder what kind of place it is."

"We are going to find Jenna and Kraden first, right? I bet Kraden would love to see Lemuria," Garet said knowingly. "He loves the unknown and mysterious. He really needs a new hobby."

* * *

Somewhere, an elderly man traveling with a group of younger people let out a huge sneeze. 

"Is something the matter, Kraden?" asked a brown haired girl.

"I do not know. I was fine a minute ago…"

"Someone must be talking about you," the girl teased.

* * *

"Speaking of finding Lemuria and Jenna," Isaac began softly, "which one comes first?"

Garet blinked in confusion. "Of course, Jenna comes first! What do you mean, 'which one comes first?'"

"But we do not even know where she could be," Isaac replied. "We at least have an idea of where Lemuria is. Babi has helped us greatly during our travels-he gave us the Cloak Ball, this ship. Without any of it, we could not have come so far. Don't you think that we should at least find his 'Lemuria' for him first?"

"What are you talking about Isaac? Do you not want to find Jenna? Or are you still afraid to tell her about Felix?" Garet accused.

"That is not the reason at all. I just feel guilty," Isaac said, rubbing his arms as he avoided facing Garet.  "Babi really needs the potion, but we do not even know when we can search for it if we look for Jenna first. I feel…somewhat indebted to him and obligated to fulfill his one wish."

"That Babi is just a selfish lord who is afraid to die!" Garet spat. "You want to help a man like him first before Jenna?"

"That's not it at all!" Isaac said, frustrated. "But we promised him we will find Lemuria-"

"And we will! After Jenna!" Garet exclaimed. "We are not sneaking out of our promise!"

"You guys, please," Mia began.

"Let's talk about this reasonably," Ivan pleaded.

"Do you not think that we ought to complete Babi's wishes first? Without his Cloak Ball, we could not have saved Master Hammet!" Isaac said, shooting a significant glance at Ivan.

"That is true," Ivan said hesitantly.

"That is a cheap shot, Isaac," Garet growled, "trying to make Ivan feel guilty."

"Without Babi, we would not even be on this ship, and then how would we search for Jenna?"

"Stop it, Isaac! Look, I know that Babi has done quite a bit for us, but Jenna is the one being held hostage by Alex. Without Felix, who knows what sort of danger she would be in!" Garet shouted. "Do you just want to leave her in the hands of people like Alex? You rather go do the bidding of some jerk? What kind of person are you, Isaac? You are not his dog!"

"I just think it is the right thing to do," Isaac insisted.

"Yeah? Do you think that just because you are the leader-"

"What about me being leader?" Isaac asked dangerously. "Are you questioning my leadership?"

"You think you are so great just because everyone talks about how responsible you are. Isaac is always the hero. He is the smart one and everyone wants to be like him. Everyone wants him to be leader," Garet said in a scoffing tone. "Well, I am sick of it! Always having to carry the weight of the whole world on his shoulder, Isaac never makes a mistake because he is the golden boy!"

"You think I like all the pressure?" Isaac laughed in a bitter tone. "You always have decisions to make, you always need to think about the consequences. After all, I have to be the 'perfect leader.' I would not want anyone to get hurt just because I made a bad decision. I always have to think about the right thing, the best thing, never thinking about what I would like. Do you ever wonder how I feel when each of the two lighthouses was lit? I always wonder, is it because of me that the lighthouses were lit? Maybe it was my fault!"

"Please, you two, this is ridiculous!" Mia cried. "You two are best friends!"

"It is always about you," Garet snarled. "You want to go to Lemuria first so that Babi can thank you, so that you can be the hero! Maybe you do not want to look for Jenna because you do not want to fail!"

"Garet, how can you say that?" Ivan said, shaking his head.

"Do you wonder what Jenna must be feeling? How do you think she will feel when she learns of this? Or do you not care at all?" Garet demanded.

"How can I not care about Jenna? We are like brother and sister!" Isaac fumed.

"Yeah, or maybe you just stay with her because you feel guilty about that accident three years ago?" Garet suggested.

Isaac was normally a calm, collected person, but even he had a limit to his patience. Garet knew that he had struck a nerve when he suggested that Isaac did not care for Jenna at all. After Garet's comment, Isaac had lowered his head, his entire body shaking silently. 

"Garet…" Isaac said, clenching his fists. He shot Garet a poisonous glance, his eyes narrowed. "How dare you… how dare you say that!" Saying that, Isaac punched Garet squarely in the face. Garet had angered him so greatly, that he did not even consider the consequences of what he was doing. 

Garet felt himself fall over, not from the strength of Isaac' punch, but from the initial shock that Isaac had actually hit him, even though he knew that he was asking for it. He would even admit that he might have deserved it, but he would never say _that_ aloud. He knew that he was testing Isaac's limit, but this was too much. He had a deep sense of pride, and Isaac had just injured it. He was not just going to sit there after Isaac punched him in front of Ivan and Mia, looking like a fool. He leapt to his feet, spitting at a spot near Isaac's feet. 

Isaac just stood there, tilting his nose up slightly as he watched Garet get up. Garet's pride was no secret to him, and turning up his nose at him would probably just infuriate him. He knew it, and he wanted to anger him. Isaac was not going to allow Garet to think that he could do and say whatever he wanted to. He was going to teach him to shut his great big mouth. 

Garet charged at Isaac with a sudden burst of speed, surprising Isaac greatly. Garet never displayed such speed before. He barely had time to bring up his arms to block some of the hit. However, the force was enough to bring him crashing into the cabin with a crack. He did not have much time to react when Garet was in front of him again. This time, however, Isaac was ready as Garet swung another of his powerful punches towards him. Isaac ducked and kicked his feet out, trying to knock Garet to the floor.

"Nice try, Isaac," Garet said as he watched Isaac's legs shoot out, simply leaping out of harm's way. "I traveled with you long enough to know what you are thinking."

"Really, Garet?" Isaac's voice called.

Garet looked to see that Isaac was no longer in front of him. While he was busy dodging Isaac's last attack, Isaac had simply disappeared. He instantly turned behind him, but no one was there either. "What?"

"Up here, Garet," Isaac's voice called from above. The kick was merely a distraction to avert Garet's view from him for a second. He only needed a second to mutter Carry while Garet was talking and feel his Psynergy leak out from within him to form a pair of ghastly looking hands that lifted him upwards. 

Garet snapped his head up to only see Isaac leap off of the hands as they disappeared, receiving a swift kick to his stomach, causing him to skid backwards. He barely had time to dig his toes in to prevent falling over again when he noticed that Isaac had lifted his sword above his head while a soft golden glow surrounded his body. He smirked slightly. If Isaac wanted to use Psynergy, well, two could play that game. Garet felt a warm tingling sensation that happened every time he used his Psynergy, a fiery flame that coursed through his veins. He lifted one of his hands up into the air as the soft red glow gathered into his hand. Neither of the two boys moved nor paid attention to Mia's and Ivan's pleadings to stop as they watched each other carefully.

"ERUPTION!" Garet called.

A triumphant smile was on Garet's face as Isaac was shot upward by the sudden fiery blast that appeared beneath his feet, trapping Isaac in the center of the flaming column. The immense heat could be felt from where he stood as he watched the flames lick playfully at Isaac's skin. Garet's smile soon fell, however, when he noticed that Isaac still managed to painstakingly slash his sword down.

"RAGNAROK!" Isaac croaked out. Suddenly, a gigantic bright sword appeared in the sky and sped toward Garet. In an instance, Garet felt as if his body was being skewered.

When the flames disappeared, Isaac fell to the ship's surface with a thud, his entire body singed. Garet collapsed, too, his body sore as the sword disappeared. Both had stood up to attacks that were more powerful, yet, to each of them, the attack from their best friend had somehow left them feeling weaker than normal. It was as if somewhere deep inside each of them, the hearts that strengthened them protested against this pointless argument. Both chose to ignore this subconscious feeling, however, as they struggled to stand up for another showdown.

"Isaac, Garet, stop!" Mia cried to the two boys. "This fighting is foolishness!"

Ivan clutched his throbbing head as Isaac's and Garet's thoughts were flying wildly, their thoughts too strong to block out. He could hear the inner thoughts of Isaac and Garet, knowing immediately that the two boys were reluctant to fight. Their stupid prides were the only things driving them on, both too stubborn to set them beside. 'I have to put an end to this stupid squabble!' Ivan thought desperately. When Ivan was contemplating to use Halt, the two boys lunged at each other. There was no time to use Halt, so Ivan made a risky decision.

Mia watched in horror as Ivan sprinted towards Isaac and Garet. Ivan stopped in between both of them, planting his feet firmly and bracing himself for the blows. Eyes widening, Isaac and Garet held back their punches and kicks as they skidded to a halt, crashing into Ivan. The three toppled over in a blur of colors and of hands waving franticly, crashing to the ship's deck with a thud. Mia rushed over hurriedly, trying to help the three boys to separate from each other.

"Are you all right?" Mia asked, as she helped pull Isaac up. 

Garet rolled over clutching his head, moaning. "I think so…"

Ivan sat up with difficulty, the crash knocking the wind out of him. "I'll be fine," he wheezed.

"I am fine," Isaac muttered, as he rubbed his stomach gingerly.

Mia's eyes were slightly misty as she slapped all three boys in the face.

"Ow!" Garet retorted. "What was that for?"

"That was for the foolishness of both you and Isaac," Mia said fiercely.

"Then why did you slap me as well?" Ivan demanded, rubbing the red mark across his face.

"For being a sensible person making such a reckless move! You could have gotten seriously injured."

"Well, at least they stopped," Ivan grumbled.

"I cannot believe you two," Mia scolded, paying no more attention to Ivan. "You both know better than that! Honestly! First, you two bicker like children over something that you could have discussed reasonably. Then you both intentionally provoke each other, saying things that you do not mean. To top it all off, you both decide to fight each other because of your egos." 

"I'm sorry," Isaac said softly. "I'm sorry, Mia, for worrying you. Ivan, I'm sorry for dragging you into this. And Garet, sorry for-"

"Me, too," Garet cut in softly, understanding shining in his eyes. "Let us not worry about which one comes first. We will see when the time comes. After all, we trust your decisions, leader."

Isaac cracked a small grin. He stretched his hand out and Garet immediately clasped it.

"Friends?" Garet asked.

"Always," Isaac replied.

"Can you forgive us for being such idiots, Mia? Ivan?" Garet asked.

Ivan smiled. "Of course."

"I don't know…" Mia started. "Maybe I can, if you do the dishes for a week!"

Isaac grimaced while Garet groaned at Mia's condition. 

"Mia!" Garet moaned.

"Shh, she is planning to let you off with just one day if you play along," Ivan said with a wink.

"Ivan!" Mia shrieked. "Stop ruining everything!"

Isaac shook his head good-naturally while he turned his gaze back to the lands of Angara and Gondowan. The lands now appeared to only be a line in the horizon, disappearing rapidly as the ship sped away. Only the golden light that shone brightly from the beacon of Venus Lighthouse could still be seen clearly, bidding him farewell. One day soon, Isaac hoped, the golden light would welcome him back again. 

_~To be continued in Chapter 1 -ILLUSIONS~_

Please pardon any mistakes with ship terminology. I really don't know much about ships. I hope you can tell what part of the ship I am referring to-luckily, the Lemurian ship isn't that big, so you can probably guess what I'm talking about. If you know the correct terms, please feel free to let me know so I can correct them. Arigato and R & R!


	2. Chapter 1 ILLUSIONS

**Disclaimer: **To see the full disclaimer, see the prelude. Golden Sun and everything in association with it belong to Camelot, Nintendo, and whoever else legally and rightfully own it. This is a work of fiction-anything that has a counterpart in real life or resembling it done without my knowledge is purely coincidental. This is a fanfic written for entertainment purposes only, and is for these purposes only.

_"Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality."-Nikos Kazantzakis_

Chapter 1. ILLUSIONS (Part 1)

"Damn, and the sun was shinning this morning, too," Garet pouted as he looked upwards into the dark clouds that were literally dumping water onto him, Ivan, and the eight fallen men around them.

Ivan could only turn his head and raise an eyebrow in amazement as he leaned against the cabin, trying to catch his breath.

* * *

"Wake up, Isaac," Garet whispered.

Isaac grunted as he turned away from Garet.

"Isaac, wake up!" Garet whispered, shaking Isaac by the shoulders.

"Lemme 'lone," Isaac muttered as he buried his face deeper into his pillow. 

"_Isaac!_" Garet whispered loudly, continuing to shake Isaac.

"All right, I am up," Isaac groaned as he sat up, running his fingers through his messy hair. "What hour is it?"

"The sun is just about to rise," Garet said.

"WHAT!?" Isaac exclaimed.

"Shut up," Ivan moaned as he threw a pillow at the two. "I am trying to sleep!"

"Wake up, Ivan," Garet said as he threw the pillow back at Ivan.

"I wanna keep sleeping," Ivan said into his pillow.

"Oh no," Isaac said as he hopped out of his hammock. "If Garet wakes me up this early, you do not get to sleep in, either, Ivan." Isaac walked over to Ivan and pulled away his blanket. "You are going to have to wake up and join us."

Ivan glared at Isaac as he rubbed his eyes. "Why did you wake us up this early, Garet? It is not like we have anywhere else to go. Mia is controlling the ship now. She took the last shift."

"But you guys always wake up at sunrise," Garet pointed out. "It is not like I woke you guys up earlier than usual."

Isaac groaned. "Garet, two reasons-one, we are on the ocean and the sun rises earlier for us now than when we were back in Vale up in the mountains. Two, we are farther East than where Vale is, and we are heading East as well, making the hour of sunrise earlier than usual."

"Oh," was Garet's only response.

"How do you know the sun is rising now, anyway?" Ivan asked curiously. "It does not look like you have gone up on deck yet."

"Sixth sense," Garet said with a shrug. "Today is going to be a great day. The sun is rising and it will be a sunny day!"

"Right, and predicting the weather is your seventh sense," Isaac said good-naturedly as he pulled his blue shirt over his tunic.

"Of course it is! Nothing can go wrong today!"

* * *

"Morning, Mia!" Garet called cheerfully as he stepped onto the deck.

Blue green hair, shining from the rising sun, flew as Mia turned in surprise. "Garet, you are awake early this morning."

"Anything unusual?" Garet asked, as he purposely ignored the significant looks Isaac and Ivan threw at him.

"No, not really," Mia said with a sigh. "It is still the same as before."

"How strange," Ivan said as he walked to the side of the ship. "The sea must be a lot larger than I thought. If I did not know any better, I would have thought that we have not moved any further since last night."

Isaac saw what Ivan meant because the scenery around them had not changed in the slightest bit. The sea still seemed to stretch all around their ship endlessly. He could still feel the gentle rise and fall beneath his feet as the same gentle waves lapped against the ship. The slight breeze continued to swirl around him, teasing his hair. The only difference now was that it was morning. The sun was rising from the horizon, chasing the shadows away. Yet, the rising of a new morning did not seem to shine upon any land, especially one called Lemuria. 

"I do not believe this!" Garet began to whine. "Are you sure we moved at all since last night? Everything looks exactly the same!"

"Well, the sea is a large body of water. If we did not see miles of water around us, I would be worried," Mia said.

"But nothing changed at all-not the wind nor the waves," Garet replied.  

"There is nothing we can do about it," Isaac sighed. "We can only keep on sailing east and look for the large area of mist that we saw from the lighthouse."

"I guess so," Garet grumbled. "I want to eat. What's for breakfast?"

"Garet, all you ever think about is your stomach," Mia pointed out.

"That is not true, Mia! Stop picking on me," Garet complained.

* * *

"So bored," Garet said monotonously as he sprawled on the ship's deck.

"Stop saying that. You have already said that fifty-one times," Ivan pointed out.

"You actually kept track?" Garet said incredulously. "You must be more bored than I am."

"Yes, I am- Wait, that was not the point, Garet!"

"Garet, go do something if you are so bored," Mia commanded from the wheel. 

"Like what? There is nothing to do. I am so bored." 

"Fifty-two times. You know, you remind me of Hammet's guards," Ivan chuckled. "Kalay used to rarely be troubled so they never have much to do. They pass the time by whining and gambling."

"That is it!" Garet exclaimed.

"What is?" 

"We can gamble!"

"Have you lost your mind?" Isaac called.

Garet glanced up to see Isaac sitting atop the cabin roof, legs dangling over the edge. "Why not?"

"What are you going to gamble with?"

"I have dice," Ivan provided helpfully.

"You do? Why would you have dice?" Mia asked.

"No reason…"

"You probably gambled with the guards," Isaac suggested. 

Ivan wrinkled his nose as he reached into his pack for two pairs of dice. "And I thought I was the psychic one in this group."

"That is to get you back for all the times you announced my private thoughts to the world," Isaac retorted.

Ivan huffed as he handed the dices to Garet. _"The dice are loaded, Garet. They activate with a little Psynergy. Just a little will do. Then they will all land with the 6s facing up."_

"Yes! Dice! Let us play the High-Low game," Garet said eagerly as he grabbed the dice. "Get ready to lose, guys, because I am feeling lucky today!"

* * *

"That is not probable!" Isaac exclaimed as Garet won for the seventh time straight. "You rolled 23! What were the chances that you would roll a 24 right after that?? That is one out of a million. The dice must be loaded!"  
"These are Ivan's dice. How could I cheat? And Ivan's not even playing anymore."

"You are cheating, somehow!"

Ivan could only smile as he watched Isaac and Garet start arguing over the dice as Mia tried to calm them down. He climbed the ladder placed next to the cabin wall up to the cabin's roof. He enjoyed coming up onto the roof because he could sit in solitude as he watched the waves and felt the sea breeze. As he laid down on his back to look up into the clear blue sky, he could not help but wonder over what Garet had pointed out earlier in the morning. 

It _was_ strange that nothing seemed to have changed. After all this time of traveling with Mia, he knew perfectly well how easily and quickly the water could change from gentle to rough. These constant calm waves were disturbing to his nerves, but maybe he did not know enough about the sea to make a proper judgment. Maybe there was nothing unusual about experiencing only small gentle waves. Had he become so used to the constant activity and excitement of traveling and fighting that he could not stand some peace and quiet?

_Ivan…_

"Hmm?" 

_Ivan…_

"Who is calling me?" Ivan asked as he sat up.

"Ivan, is something wrong?" Isaac called as he climbed up the ladder. "No one is calling you."

'No one is calling me?' Ivan thought to himself. 'Then…who was calling my name?'

"Are you okay?" Isaac asked, looking a little concerned. "You look a little worried." 

"I am fine. I guess this silence is causing me to hear things," Ivan said with a small laugh.

Isaac looked at the small boy who had now wrapped his arms around his legs. His purple eyes still looked disturbed, but he knew better than to push Ivan. "All right, then. If you ever need to talk, I will always be there to listen," he told the wind mage with a smile as he started down.

"Thanks, Isaac, but I am fine," Ivan insisted a little more firmly, driving all thoughts about the mysterious voice out of his head. He must have imagined it; that was the only explanation. He was about to head down as well when something stopped him.

_Watery reflections, round and round you go. Are you sailing straight, hee, what do you know? Your mind can play with your eyes and we can play with your mind. A puppet on strings, we can pull you down. Join us in our grave, as you sink and drown._

"What!?" Ivan panicked.

"Ivan?" Garet called from below.

"Watery reflections, round and round we go. Are we sailing straight, but what do we know? Our minds can play with our eyes and you can play with our minds. A puppet on strings, you can pull us down. Join you in your grave, as we sink and drown," Ivan muttered frantically.

"Ivan, are you sure you are feeling okay?" Mia asked in concern.

"Watery reflections, round and round we go. Are we sailing straight, but what do we know?"

"Ivan, what are you talking about?" Garet said, frustrated.

"Round and round we go. Round and round we go."

"Ivan!" Isaac cried as he climbed back up the ladder again. However, when he reached the top of the roof, he was shocked. The normally bright violet eyes were clouded over and were glowing eerily, as Ivan's hands clutched his hair, shaking his head. He still was muttering continuously about going around and around and the puppet on a string. This was not the Ivan he knew. What was going on? 

"Ivan, snap out of it!" Isaac said as he shook Ivan by his shoulders. "Hey, what is wrong?"

"Watery reflections, round and round you go. Are you sailing straight, hee, what do you know?" Ivan laughed. His normal soft voice had changed to a high-pitched girl's voice as he continued to laugh hysterically. "Join us in our grave, as you sink and drown!"

"_Ivan!_" Isaac said in a panicky voice. This had never happened before. Was Ivan possessed?

"Ivan, what is wrong?" Mia called.

"I do not know what is wrong with him," Isaac said. "He, he keeps repeating this thing about going around and around and being puppets on a string. Ivan, snap out of it!"

Suddenly, Ivan's eyes returned to their normal bright color as they became focused again. Ivan's eyes darted from side to side, frightened, until he noticed that Isaac standing before him, hands on his shoulders. "Isaac, what happened?"

Isaac sighed with relief as he removed his hands from Ivan's shoulders. "Thank goodness."

"Isaac? Ivan?" Mia said softly as her head poked up to see the two blond boys sitting in front of her. She joined them and was relieved to see that Ivan appeared to have returned to normal. "What happened?"  
"I, I do not know," Ivan began. "I heard a voice in my head, saying something about going round and round…"

"And being puppets on strings being dragged down as we sink and drown?" Garet asked as he also climbed up to join them.

"Yes, but how did you know?" Ivan asked, surprised.

"You were reciting it out loud to us over and over again," Isaac told him.

"'Watery reflections,'" Mia began.

"'…Round and round you go. Are you sailing straight,'" Garet continued.

"'…But what do you know? Your mind controls your eyes and we control your mind. A puppet on strings,'" Isaac started.

"'…We can pull you down. Join us in our grave, as you sink and drown,'" Ivan finished. "That was what…the voice said to me. 

"As threatening as it may sound, it also sounds…somewhat like a warning. Do you not think so?" Mia asked.

"Our mind controls our eyes, and they control our mind…" Ivan repeated again.

"It kind of reminds me of what my sister once told me," Garet brought up. "She told me that if you really wanted to see something, and your mind was so focused on seeing it, then your eyes will deceive you and you will start seeing it when, in reality, it's not really there."

"I bet she told you that when you thought the grass was really food," Isaac laughed.

"Shut up, Isaac! I was only six," Garet said, turning slightly red.

"Deceiving… That's it!" Ivan suddenly exclaimed.

"What? What are you talking about?" Garet asked.

"Do you not see it? Or actually, you do see it!" Ivan said, excited.

"You're doing it again, Ivan. You are not making sense!" Garet complained.

"This is an illusion! We are being deceived!" Ivan started to stand up and look frantically around him. 

"But would there not be a source of the illusion?" Isaac asked, puzzled. "Before, the illusions appeared as rocks."

"Watery reflections… When you glance into the water, you will see your reflection. It looks like a real person, but it is not!" Ivan exclaimed as he started to hurry down the ladders. "Why did I not realize it earlier? Water is known to change; yet so far, the Eastern Sea water has been a constant calm with small gentle waves. The water is the source of the illusion." 

He rushed over to the side of the ship, peering over to look into the water. Another Ivan appeared into the water, peering over the same image of the ship. Or was it? For a fleeting second, it looked as if his reflection gave him a slight wink. 

"How could that be?" Mia questioned out loud from behind him.

"It makes sense, though. Maybe that is why no ship has ever been able to find its way to Lemuria. The ship must have been caught in an illusion, but unaware of it, thinking it continues to sail east while it is really sailing in circles," Isaac said.

Ivan had already begun to feel the electric tingle of his Psynergy coursing through his body as it raced to his fingertips. He closed his eyes as he raised his arms, focusing the Psynergy to dispel the illusion. "REVEAL!" Yet, after the word left his lips, he was hesitant to open his eyes. This was all a wild assumption; he had no idea whether he was right or not. 'I hope… I hope that I am right…'

"Ivan, look ahead!" Mia suddenly called.

Ivan's eyes popped open as he looked up to see an ominous sign. Without a moment's warning, dark storm clouds had crowded the blue sky of morning, hastily rumbling towards him and his friends. As if it was declaring war, the storm clouds roared as they raced across the sky, pounding on war drums. Rain began to shoot towards them, shot from the dark bows, as spears of lightening were hurled downwards. The sea began to wail along with the thunder that echoed through the raven sky, tossing the ship as she reached up towards the sky.

"Garet, I thought you said it was going to be sunny today!" Ivan said.

"Well, I thought it was!" Garet replied. "I do not know. I was just making that up!"

"Mia!" Isaac yelled, ignoring Ivan and Garet as he took command. "Take the wheel!"

Mia nodded as she promptly slid down the ladder and rushed towards the wheel at the front of the ship.

"Garet, make sure everything is secured. Ivan! Try to use your Mind Read to sense for living creatures and find land. We have to anchor this ship and wait out the storm."

"What are you going to do, Isaac?" Garet called out as he climbed down the ladder.

"I am climbing up to the observation deck and see if I can see anything."

"What?" Mia cried incredulously. "The railings up there are not that high. In this wind and with these waves, you will get knocked off of that small platform! Do not be foolish! We have not seen any sign of land all day. Through this rain and darkness, what could you expect to find?"  
"I still have to go up there," Isaac insisted, "because I still have to try."

"Isaac-"

"Just leave me be!" Isaac shouted angrily.

"Fine then! Sorry for worrying about you, Isaac!" Mia shouted as she turned around. Why does Isaac not listen to her reasons? She was hurt that he would ignore her like that. Did he not trust her? "Isaac…" she whispered, her voice lost amidst the war cries of the sea.

Isaac groaned to himself as he looked around him atop on the observation deck. Mia was right, and he knew it. 'You shouldn't have yelled at her,' his conscience reprimanded him. 'I will make it up to her after we get out of this mess…'

"Isaac, I feel some very faint traces of human thoughts on the port side!" Ivan called as he pointed to the left. "We should head in that direction."

"Excellent!" Isaac called back, getting ready to climb back down.

Just then, an enormous wave crashed against the ship, causing her to shudder. The wooden platform beneath Isaac's feet groaned and swayed. The floor, already slick from the rain, caused his feet to accidentally slip. The railing served as little barrier as he felt himself being thrown over. Desperately trying to catch hold of the railing, his hands slipped. 

"Isaac!" Garet called in alarm.

Mia turned when she heard Garet's cry to see Isaac falling. "Isaac!" she screamed. 

_"Mia, I have a plan! But we have to act quickly!" _Ivan's voice called to her through her mind. She listened to his plan and quickly nodded.

"WHIRLWIND!" Ivan called.

"DOUSE!" Mia shouted simultaneously. 

The whirlwind that Ivan had created began to mix with the water that Mia had called on, creating a water funnel. The giant column of wind and water moved towards Isaac, catching him as he fell.

Isaac was surprised that he did not crash onto the ship's deck, and saw that he was on top of a spiraling water whirlwind. Ivan and Mia must have quickly worked together to prevent his fall. He quickly leaped to the ladder of the platform that was nearby and looked down to see his friends gathered around.

"Are you all right?" Garet shouted.

Isaac nodded silently as he looked into Mia's eyes. Her blue eyes looked so relieved and radiated with a soft happiness that touched him. Did he cause her to worry so badly? He wanted to call out to her, to apologize for being such a fool when another enormous crash hit the ship. He watched in horror as Mia, who had let her guard down when she noticed that Isaac was safe, stumbled backwards, crashing into the rails. A pair of watery hands seemed to have risen from the sea, reaching out towards her. 

"Mia!" Isaac cried in alarm.

Mia turned her head and tried to move, but was caught within the phantom hands.

"What the-" Garet stuttered as he turned around. "Mia!"

For a moment, Mia was suspended in the air, trapped by a pair of mysterious hands, when suddenly she disappeared as the hands dragged her into the water.

"MIA!!" Isaac screamed, and for a split moment, the storm was silent. In a flash, however, the storm continued to wail and scream, drowning out the cries of the anguished Venus Adept.

_~To be continued in Chapter 2 -OVERBOARD_


	3. Chapter 2 OVERBOARD

**Disclaimer: **To see full disclaimer, see the prelude. Golden Sun belongs to Camelot and Nintendo. This is a fanfiction, written purely for entertainment purposes only. The disclaimer seems to be getting shorter…

A/N: The second part to ILLUSION. I called it a second chapter, but it actually the last part of chapter 1. So if things don't make sense, you might want to go back and look over chapter 1 again. 

_"Don't hold to anger, hurt or pain. They steal your energy and keep you from love."-Leo F. Buscaglia _

Chapter 2. OVERBOARD (Part 2)

"MIA!!" Isaac screamed, and for a split moment, the storm was shocked into silence. In a flash, however, the storm continued to wail and scream, drowning out the cries of the anguished Venus Adept.

Isaac could only hang there and watch as the watery hands dragged Mia into the sea. While he was normally slow at making decisions, alas, this was not a normal time. Isaac hastily slid down the ladder and leapt off the cabin roof. He landed onto the deck with a thud and leaped past Garet and Ivan.

"Isaac, what are you doing?" Ivan called.

Isaac simply ignored him as he rushed to the railings and climbed up.

"You, you cannot be serious!" Garet exclaimed.

Proving how serious he really was, Isaac leapt into the sea.

"Isaac!" Garet shouted as he rushed to the railings and peered into the water. However, with the darkness and the ferocious waves, he could not spy his yellow-haired friend anywhere. Garet was about to leap over as well, when he felt someone grab his shirt. "Ivan, what are you doing?"

"What do you think you are doing, Garet?" Ivan asked calmly. 

When Garet was about to open his mouth and reply, Ivan interrupted him.

"No, Garet, that was a theoretical question. I already know that you plan on jumping over the ship to save Isaac and Mia."

"Then why are you stopping me?" Garet demanded.

"Garet, do not be a fool! If you jump off this ship, what do you plan to accomplish? It is already going to be hard enough for Isaac to find Mia, but for all three of you to find each other? We have to stay here on the ship and do our best to help the both of them. You will have to take the wheel. The waves here seem to be crashing toward the shore. It will take too much energy for them to fight against the waves and will probably go with the flow. I had already sensed the slight trace of human thought coming from that direction, so head there," Ivan said as he pointed to the port side (left). "I will try to find Isaac and Mia with my Mind Read, and then we can try to reach them. Understand?" 

Garet nodded, slightly surprised to see Ivan giving out the orders, and quickly hurried towards the wheel. Ivan scanned the waters as he concentrated his thoughts. It was harder for him to read people's minds from afar, and would take quite a bit of Psynergy to do so. However, he had read Isaac's and Mia's minds before, and he could easily recognize the feeling he sensed every time he read their minds. He focused on sending his Psynergy all around him, hopefully reaching their minds. _"Isaac, Mia, where are you guys?"_

Ivan furrowed his eyebrows. He could not sense Mia's mind at all. Had something happened to her? Did she lose consciousness? Hopefully, it was only because she was too far away that he could not feel anything from her. Fortunately, he soon found Isaac's mind, the golden aura that surrounded Isaac was scintillating in his mind. 

_ "Isaac!" _

"Must find Mia! Must find Mia! MUST FIND MIA!"

"Agh!" Ivan groaned as he recoiled slightly.

"Is something wrong?" Garet asked, panicking. 

"It was Isaac."

"Did something bad happen?"

"No, it is just that his mind is so focused that no other thoughts could penetrate his thoughts, not even mine," Ivan said with a slight smile.

"How can you be smiling right now, Ivan!?"

"It is just that," Ivan began as he turned to see Garet, "Isaac is so focused on finding Mia. The only thing going through his mind right now is, 'Find Mia! Find Mia!'"

"I do not see how that is amusing," Garet exclaimed.

Ivan's smile only grew larger. "Do not worry, you will understand soon. He _will _find her."

* * *

Mia felt as if her Ice Missiles were trying to skewer her from all directions. She struggled to stay afloat, but despite the fact that water was her natural element, she kept sinking. Losing focus, she wondered if those strange hands were still dragging her. Maybe that was why she kept sinking. Strangely, she felt quite calm, even though she could possibly be pulled to her death by a pair of mysterious watery hands that were dragging her to the sea floor. Mia blinked. Dragged to her death at seventeen. By watery hands. This was not fair! If she had to die young, she wanted to die nobly! She was Mia, the Mercury Adept from the Mercury Clan of Imil, not some simpleton. She was not going to die like this. This was outrageous! Unfortunately, before she could pursue this train of thought any further, she lost consciousness. 

The only thing she could remember was peeking through her eyelashes, the saltiness of the water stinging her eyes. She struggled to make out vaguely the shapes of seven blue shapes glowing around her. Then, everything turned black.

* * *

In any other situations, Isaac would have laughed to see himself bobbling helplessly in the middle of the sea. He knew it was a sad sight to see as he struggled amidst the waves, progressing about an inch per second and falling back about two inches per every other second. However, the girl he cared for was abducted by a pair of watery hands, probably being dragged to her death, and was somewhere out in the sea, and he had to find her. It was definitely not an opportune moment to open his mouth and laugh. He would end up choking on the salty seawater. 

Things were looking badly for him. Isaac had no idea how he was going to locate Mia like this. He did not know if she was managing to stay afloat, or if she was sinking. He wasn't sure if he should attempt to keep moving forward or dive into the water and see if he could locate her. He didn't think that she could be that far off, but when he surfaced after his dive, he could not see her anywhere. Being hasty, he didn't even think of having Ivan try to find her with his Mind Read, or Reveal, or something. Everything was looking hopeless.

'Never give up!' he thought to himself furiously. No matter what, even if he had to swim the entire Eastern Sea, he will find Mia. She was Mia, Mercury Adept from the Mercury Clan of Imil, and she would be fine. He will find her, save her, and ask for forgiveness. He would not allow it to be any other way. He MUST find her. If he didn't, he did not know what he would do with himself…

* * *

"I just do not understand how they could have both disappeared so quickly," Garet muttered as he tried to keep the wheel from spinning wildly. 

"I do not understand, either, but we have to keep looking. If the sea could fool us with an illusion for so long, who knows what are the true extent of her powers," Ivan replied, continuing to scan the seawater. 

"Land ho, Ivan! What do we do?"

Ivan narrowed his eyes and peered through the gloom, faintly making out the shoreline. Garet really had some sharp eyes. "I do not know. I cannot feel Mia and Isaac anymore…"

"Do you want to continue sailing around, looking for them?"

Ivan bit his lower lip as he shook his head. "No, we will never find them in time that way."

"Now what, then?"

"If only Isaac was here. Now I know how he feels," Ivan said with a sigh. "I do not know what to do."

"Just make the best decision that you can," Garet said with a smile. "That is all you can do, and that is all I expect you to do. Isaac and Mia would feel that way, as well."

Ivan returned a small smile. "Yes, I know…"

"Well then?"

"Bring her to shore, Garet!" 

"Yes, sir!" Garet replied. He could see the outline of trees as the ship approached land. "We cannot sail completely next to the shore for I do not know how deep the water is around here, and the waves may crash the ship against something. We will have to anchor off around here." (I really don't know much about ships. I hope this is plausible…)

"All right," Ivan nodded. "That will do. Be prepared to use your Psynergy."

"All ri- Wait! Psynergy!? Why?" Garet exclaimed.

"I was thinking. I will continue to use Mind Read and try to sense them, but… We have not been able to see them so far, but we can help them see us. You will have to use your Psynergy and illuminate the area so that they will be able to find us in this darkness."

"But it is raining! In case you forgotten, fire plus water equals psshhh!!" Garet hissed, imitating the sound of water dousing a fire. 

"I figure Fire Ball would be the best for you to use," Ivan replied cheerfully. "Time to see who will win-us or the storm."

* * *

"The storm wins," Garet said flatly.

"Garet…"

"It is true. I am almost completely sapped of Psynergy, and I bet you are, too. I have been trying to keep the ship lit up, and it is probably light enough to become the next lighthouse! Standing in the rain does not help, either. Really. It is like the rain is sapping my energy, and you do not look so great either. Your face is all pale and clammy looking."

"You are right," Ivan sighed, holding a hand to his forehead. "Too bad weather prediction is not your seventh sense."

"Hey!"

"All right, we will stop for now. I guess if Isaac and Mia were anywhere in the area, they would have seen us by now. If I get the Black Orb, we can leave the ship. Let us try walking further down the shore to see if we can find them. If we do not find them soon, we will come back and rest for a while."

"Good idea!" Garet agreed enthusiastically. "I have the feeling that the sun is going to come out soon!"

* * *

"Good job, Alex. Go through all that trouble to leave just to abduct somebody, and then _lose _the abducted as someone abducts my abducting target. Crazy storm," Alex muttered to himself as he brushed his pale blue, almost white-colored, bangs out of his deep green eyes. He angrily pushed aside the tree branches that seemed to randomly poke out at him. Some of the branches whipped back at, causing the wet leaves to smack him in the face. However, he had already given up on staying dry. Turning his head up to see the ominous clouds through the foliage, he wrinkled his nose.

"Can't wait to get out of this stupid rain," he said, shivering slightly. It was strange. He was a Mercury Adept, yet this rain disturbed him, chilled him to the bone. Why did he chose today of all day to abduct someone? 'Because there are no other times… You have a mission to complete. If you do not do it now, you will be late…'

"Now my conscious is talking to me. I have been in the rain too long," Alex groaned as he approached the outer limits of the woods. "I am going back to the inn right now…" 

 Trailing off, Alex could not believe what was before his eyes. The rain was playing tricks on him. He blinked once. Twice. 'Right now' was going to have to wait.

* * *

"I am going back to the inn right now…" a familiar voice trailed off.

"The rain, the rain, it is the rain making me hallucinate," Mia muttered, digging her head deeper into the muddy sand.

"Mia?" the voice called.

"Please let me be hallucinating!"

"Mia? It is I, Alex."

'Why?' Mia thought to herself as she pushed herself up.

"Mia?"

"Hello, Alex," Mia said, with a fake smile pasted on her face.

* * *

Ivan grimaced as he faced the door, preparing to step back into the rain. He had ducked into the cabin to retrieve the Black Orb while Garet waited outside. It was a short, simple trip, but the cabin was warm and comfortable, making even a short trip into the cabin appear to be a luxury compared to having to step back into the piercing, cold rain. He took a deep breath before opening the door, bracing himself for the deluge. 

"Garet, I am back," Ivan called, shielding his eyes with his hand from the needle sharp droplets.

"Uh, Ivan, I think we have company."

"What are you talking about?" Ivan asked in disbelief as he removed his hand.

As Ivan glanced around the deck, he realized that he and Garet were no longer alone on the fair ship. While he left to retrieve the Black Orb, eight more people had boarded their ship. Although it was hard to see these intruders very well, Ivan could tell that they were all eight, brawny men. They had surrounded both him and Garet, and were approaching closer, hemming the two of the closer in towards the center.

"Can we…help you with anything?" Ivan offered hopefully.

A fist suddenly came flying towards Ivan as one of the men charged with a shrill cry. Ivan leapt quickly out of the way in alarm and then quickly ducked when another man tried to kick him squarely in the face.

"Do you think that you may have offended them?" Garet asked as he blocked a punch.

"How? By asking them if they needed help?" Ivan called as he tried to avoid being run over as three of the men simultaneously charged.

"You never know, Ivan. Maybe you insulted them by offering to help. Maybe they thought you were implying they needed help!" Garet offered as he tried to fend off the numerous punches and kicks.

Ivan did not even bothered to argue back because he was slightly busy trying to think of some way to deal with the situation. He racked his brain for some idea, but besides the idea of running, which would be silly because they were on a ship, he could come up with nothing. He was too distracted to be able to concentrate fully to develop a plan as he watched several of the men draw their swords. Ivan reached for his light blade, Kikuichimonji, as well, whipping it out in time to ward off an attack. Nimble footed, Ivan easily parried blows with one of the men. A one-on-one battle was simple, but Ivan could hear the swishing sound of another sword swung from behind him. He threw a glance back and dodged to avoid the swing, but the man in front of him used this to his advantage and attacked again. 

"Damn it!" Ivan swore as he saw the blood that were starting to ooze out of his upper right arm. He was in a bad position, caught between three men and the railing of the ship.

Garet saw the desperate position of the Jupiter Adept, and tried to reach him to lend his aid, but out of the corner of his eyes he saw a silver streak. He immediately pulled out his own sword, Muramasa, to block a giant battle-ax. His knees buckled under the pressure of the impact, and he had to use all his strength to make a stand. He summoned all the strength he had within him and knocked the ax back. When he turned back to Ivan, however, he saw that his way with blocked with four other men. 

"Move it!" Garet growled. He could feel his heart beating wildly, his fear overwhelming. There was no way he could make it in time to help Ivan. Before he could even move, however, Garet heard a familiar howl.

Within Ivan's hands, the Kikuichimonji started to glow as it howled. A faint whispery cry that sounded like "Asura" could be heard as a mysterious human-like apparition appeared in the sky. Several times larger than a normal human, this Asura stood before Ivan with blue billowing robes and long white hair. However, the face was always hidden from Ivan and Garet. Perhaps it was a frightful face with piercing red, glowering eyes, or perhaps it was just ugly; it was a face shown only to the enemies. The apparition knew that his master had been in danger, and he silently attacked, lunging forward with a swift stroke of his sword. After attacking, the apparition lingered before disappearing into the night. Ivan silently thanked the sword's mysterious guardian because Asura's presence allowed him to take the chance to anoint some of the green Potion onto his arm. A cool, reinvigorating feeling overcame him as he stood up, prepared to fight again. 

The sudden appearance of Asura had shocked the men around Garet, and he took the opportunity to knock the ones around him aside as he rushed to Ivan's side. He thought the fight was about over, but he was surprised to see that the men Asura had attacked were still fine, only slightly stunned. Even the ones he managed to shake off of him quickly recovered and lunged towards him once more. Although Garet normally had the energy to fight for hours, he was already exhaustive by his previous attempts to keep the ship lit and by standing in the rain for so long. He was tired of fighting, and decided to end the fight quickly.

"PYROCLASM!"

A flash of red lit up the dark sky once again, surrounding Garet like a phoenix's flame. Myriad fireballs formed and dotted the sky like the stars that appeared on a clear night. Ivan whirled around as he heard Garet's call and immediately ducked, narrowly having his hair torched by the flaming balls of fire that streaked by him. The two Adepts watched as the fireballs flared towards the eight men.

"EXTINGUISH!" one of the men called.

Suddenly, despite the already cloud-filled sky, more gray clouds rumbled as they appeared above the ship. A blinding blue light filled the air, allowing Ivan to catch a better glimpse of the eight men. They had dark hair of various shades of brown and black, but their eyes were deep cobalt blue. Then, the light faded. The clouds crashed into one another, causing a big explosion of rain. The rain shot towards the fire, like an arrow shot towards a target, and put out the lights one by one, leaving nothing but smoke.

"What!? How, how could that be?" Garet exclaimed, involuntarily taking a step back.

"That blue light… They must be Adepts of some sort as well," Ivan said. "From their Psynergy, they must be Mercury Adepts."

"Mercury Adepts? Then what are we going to do?"

"TEMPEST!" Ivan called, causing the sky to be lit with purple. Anyone not knowing better would have thought there was a firework display in the sky.

Columns of whirling, raging wind formed on the ship's deck, growing in height to touch the dark clouds that hanged in the sky. Bustling towards the men, the winds gathered strength and speed. Rain also collected in the whirling tunnels, and caused the droplets to spew out like shooting bullets. Such ferocious winds were like beasts that opened their mouths and exhaled deeply, prepared to eat their preys.

"TYPHOON!"

Wind fought with wind as a new storm appeared aboard the ship. Tornados and violent storm clouds collided. The storm with its strong wind and rain devoured the wind columns, engulfing the columns easily amidst its own winds and water.

"They are not human!" Garet exclaimed.

"Garet, I am pretty sure we are not fighting against gods," Ivan said irritably.

"Now what do we do? They are Mercury Adepts, right? Use one of your electrical attacks!"

"Are you crazy?" Ivan asked incredulously. "It is raining and we are wet. There are puddles all around our feet. We risk being electrocuted if I use an electric attack!"

"I have a plan! Just do it!"

"Care to fill me in first?" Ivan asked.

"No time, just do it!" 

"Oh my goodness, I cannot believe I am doing this," Ivan muttered, focusing his Psynergy.

"SPARK PLASMA!"

"FLARE STORM!"

As Ivan's great barrage of bolts attacked the men, purple electric sparks flying, Garet's incinerating flames appeared around the two Adepts, quickly evaporating the water near the flames, preventing the electric currents to reach them. The men's screams of agony could be heard as they withered, the water multiplying the shocking pain of the electric attack. Both Ivan and Garet averted their eyes from the painful scene before them, waiting for the flames and sparks to disappear.   

When the last spark faded and the last flame put out, the eight men collapsed to the deck. Their chests still rose and fell softly, alive, but badly injured. Ivan and Garet sighed in relief. They had both just used extremely powerful attacks, and their Psynergies were about completely sapped.

"Damn, and the sun was shinning this morning, too," Garet pouted as he looked upwards into the dark clouds that were literally dumping water onto him, Ivan, and the eight fallen men around them.

Ivan could only turn his head and raise an eyebrow in amazement as he leaned against the cabin, trying to catch his breath.

"It is finally over," Garet sighed.

"Hold it," a voice growled.

"What?" Ivan exclaimed as he turned to see more men climb aboard the ships. "More?"

"Who are you?" Garet demanded. "What do you want?"

One of the new men bent to look at the injured. "They have harmed one of our brothers!"

"We must exact revenge!" another cried.

"They are weak now! We must kill them! Kill them! Make them suffer!"

"Wait a minute!" Garet exclaimed. "They attacked us first! We did not do anything!"

"KILL THEM!" the men chanted.

"Ivan, what do we do?" Garet whispered. "Our Psynergies are sapped, and we gave Mia all of our Psy Crystals!"

"Hold on, now it is time for my plan," Ivan whispered back.

"Kill us now, then," Ivan called out loud. "We would rather die here nobly, aboard our ship, then to be dragged to some wretched place as prisoners and spit upon by hundreds of people before being killed."

"What!?" Garet cried in alarm.

"That is a good point," one of the men spoke up. "We wish to avenge our fallen brothers. Their families should be allowed to watch and exact their own revenges before we kill them. Let us take them back to the village!"

"He is right. Let us take them as prisoners!" the rest cried.

"You will regret that you have ever said that to us, boy," one of the men laughed.

"Tie them up!" one of the men called.

Two of the men approached Garet and Ivan, but Ivan attempted to run, staggering over to the door. Several men quickly surrounded him, grabbing his hand away from the door and tying his hands together cruelly. 

"Ah!" Ivan winced in pain.

"Get moving!" one of the men said gruffly, kicking Ivan forward to follow Garet, who was already being pushed into a small boat that was raised by the men. Ivan stumbled into the boat, sitting across from Garet.

"This is your plan?" Garet whispered.

"Yes, I am afraid it is."

"Now what??" Garet exclaimed.

Ivan did not reply as the boat was lowered, keeping his eyes on the dragon carved on the cabin door. He sighed when the door disappeared from sight, and sank into his seat. Two men, heading towards the shore, were slowly rowing the boat. Several other boats followed as they left the ship. 

The rain continued to fall mercilessly, not caring who were taken prisoners.

_~To be continued in Chapter 3-RESCUE_

This concludes the second part, and hopefully you can see it makes sense. I started chapter 1 with Garet saying, "Damn, and the sun was shinning this morning, too," and now you have all seen this part actually taken place. Also, I had seen the Golden Sun ending again, and realized that Isaac's ship is _not _the same as Picard's (or Pier's) ship. Whoops. Since I know Picard's ship much better than Isaac's ship, I'll just go with that model (it's probably a newer model than the one Babi has anyway, and the best for my beloved Adepts!). 


	4. Chapter 3 RESCUE

**Disclaimer:** To see the full disclaimer, see the prelude. Golden Sun belongs to Camelot and Nintendo. This is a fanfiction, written solely for entertainment.

_"We do not so much need the help of our friends as the confidence of their help when in need."-the Vatican Sayings, Epicurus_

Chapter 3. RESCUE

"I will find her," a young man laughed almost hysterically as he dragged his worn body out of the waters. He almost collapsed as soon as he reached the sandy shore, his body exhausted after a bitter fight against the storm. "What will I do if I cannot find her?"

Isaac slowly lowered his body, despite his mental urging to keep searching. He ached all over, and his body was shaking, no matter how hard he tried to stop. He had reached his limit. If he did not stop to rest, he would kneel over and fall face first into the sticky mixture of the wet sand. A tremor ran through his body. Although he knew he could move no further, his heart was racing. If he did not find her, his heart would not be able to stand it. Hot tears roll down his face, to only fall among the millions of tiny grains of sand, unknown and invisible among the raindrops. Unknown and invisible. Just like his feelings to Mia. "Mia…"

For a brief second, the sand seemed to give off a very faint, red color. Isaac turned his head to see a dim red glow in the sky. Although far away, he could make out the outline of a fiery Psynergy attack that he knew belonged to Garet. He could also feel the slight warm brush of Ivan's mind as Ivan searched for him. Garet and Ivan… they were out there in the storm, as well, trying to help him fix the mess that he had started. He could not believe his eyes when he suddenly saw Garet standing besides him, pulling him up, giving him a small smile of support. Ivan stood before him with a teasing smile on his face as he pointed towards the forest, motioning for Isaac to go into the forest and silently assuring him that he will find Mia.

Isaac could feel some of his strength return to his body, as he stumbled to the forest. He turned around only once. The words "Thank you, my dear friends" parted from his lips as he entered the forest. The images of Garet and Ivan disappeared into the night.

* * *

The trees in the forest could never understand humans. For one thing, most seemed to have a strange distaste for the rain. They didn't appreciate the refreshing taste of rainwater when it was sucked through the roots. As soon as rain started to fall, the humans always ran for cover, especially if there was a booming noise in the sky. 

Today, however, a strange fellow was wandering in their forest. He had long, white and blue hair. Although a male, he had a certain liquid grace that caused him to flow more than he walked. His very essence screamed water. They were delighted that a human was enjoying the blessing of rain, until they realized that he did not seem to share their joy. He was mumbling and shooting dirty looks toward the sky. He appeared delighted when he finally reached the edge of the forest and left. The trees decided that he was just another unfortunate fellow who got stuck in their forest during a storm, and left it at that. Yet, humans were strange creatures. The man was so happy to leave that the trees were shocked to find him _enter_ the forest again within a few minutes, this time, dragging a girl that was strikingly similar to him. She did not look any happier than the man did, although she shot her dirty looks at the man, instead of the sky. Humans, who could understand them?

"Alex, let go of me," Mia growled as she tried to wrench her hand away from him.

Alex merely ignored her as he tightened his grip around her wrist, pulling her deeper into the forest.

"Why are you dragging me through this forest?" Mia demanded as she continued to twist and turn her arm in all sorts of different directions. It was apparent, however, that Alex was simply not paying any attention to her questions. Mia rolled her eyes as she gave him a firm kick.

"Ow!" Alex snapped as he halted to a stop. "You don't need to be so hostile. I simply wanted to talk."

"Then talk," Mia said, folding her arms to her chest, keeping her hands out of his reach.

"I do not want to talk here."

"Why, afraid the trees will listen?" Mia scoffed.

Alex merely sighed. "Fine. Mia, you must stop pursuing me and trying to prevent the lighting of the lighthouse."

"Is that all you brought me here for?" Mia laughed. "Do you expect me to abandon my quest, then, now that you requested I stop? Do you take me as a fool?"

"It is for your own good. You must return to Imil," Alex insisted.

"I have stopped listening to what you had to say a long time ago," Mia answered coolly, staring coldly into Alex's eyes.

"Mia, please, you have to go back," Alex pleaded desperately.

"Why should I? You have betrayed our clan and went against our code. I am the only member left of the Mercury clan, and I will avenge our people of your misdeeds that had tainted our good name."

"That is because you simply do not understand!"

"_I_ do not understand?" Mia laughed bitterly. "You're right, I do not understand. I do not understand why you, the one person I looked up to, would do this to me and my-"

Mia stopped as she heard a rustling that sounded like someone was running through the undergrowth. Someone pushed through the bushes and gasped, "Mia!"

"Isaac?" Mia exclaimed joyously.

"Mia, you are all right," Isaac said, relieved, as he hurried towards her and embracing her into his arms. He pressed his face into the soft, blue wet hair as he tightened his hold around her waist, afraid to let her go. "I was so afraid, so afraid that something had happened to you. If something had happened, I did not know what I would do."

"Isaac…" Mia said softly, touched.

Isaac shifted his head and loosened his grip when he finally caught sight of Alex standing before him. His eyes glared possessively, shifting from their normal blue warmth to something colder and frightening. Alex could not help but to take an involuntary step backwards, stunned by the demonic look within Isaac's eyes. He had never seen such eyes, eyes that held so much hatred, anger, and a fierce thirst for revenge. "Alex…" Isaac growled.

"Isaac," Alex forced himself to reply coolly, masking the fear that was coursing through his body.

Isaac removed himself from Mia as he stepped menacingly towards Alex, drawing his Gaia Blade from the sheath on his back. "You were the one who summoned those hands that snatched Mia from the ship, weren't you?"

"No, I did not!" Alex protested firmly. "I did not summon these 'hands' you talked about. If I wanted to abduct Mia, I could simply appear on your ship, grab her, and then -poof- leave just like that. Why would I go through the trouble of summoning some kind of hand?"

"Really?" Isaac said as he moved closer to Alex, sword pointed straight at Alex's neck. His eyes glittered dangerously as a twisted smirk came across his face, daring Alex to continue with his story. "Then who would 'go through the trouble of summoning some kind of hand'?"

Alex gulped as he tried to move away, only to find that he had backed into a tree. "Do you know where you are?" he asked, trying to distract Isaac as he thought of a way to escape. If he showed the slightest inclination to teleport, he knew that Isaac would slice off his head immediately. He figured that the possibility of losing his head was not worth a gamble. "You have wandered into the territory of the Champa. They are said to be frightful people, according to the girl with the herbal shop in Lalivero. It appears that some of their people possess the ability to manipulate water."

"And what would their incentives be in kidnapping Mia? Would you have something to do with it?" Isaac asked predatorily, a playful smile tugging his lips. The smile was about as comforting to Alex as a smile from a cat would have been to a mouse. 

"I really have nothing to do with it. I did poof by the ship today because I wanted to talk to her, but when I saw the watery hands grab her, I went to the village of Champa to find her. When I left, I found her lying by the shore, washed up by the waves." Alex praying from the bottom of his heart that Isaac did not suddenly possess the ability to read minds. Then Isaac would have found out that he was planning to abduct Mia in order to talk to her if someone else hadn't gotten to it first, and he would soon have no head left to see what Isaac's next move would be.

"Hmm…fine then," Isaac said.

Alex sighed in relief. He was off the hook. 

Suddenly, the blade of the sword was sticking out from the tree right next to his head, much to the tree's dissatisfaction. 

Alex held his breath. Not off the hook yet.

"You expect me to believe that?" Isaac began as he pulled the Gaia Blade out of the tree. 

"Isaac, wait!" Mia pleaded as she grabbed Isaac's right wrist.

Isaac looked shocked as he turned around. "Mia?"

"Isaac, don't hurt him," she said as she stood in between Isaac and Alex.

"Mia, why?" Isaac asked, hurt.

"Isaac, you are not yourself. _Please _do not do something that you will regret. You of all people I do not want to see suffer from a mistake made in the past." 

"I see then," Isaac said softly as he turned to leave. "Unfortunately, you are too late. I have already made a mistake."

Mia felt tears come to her eyes for the third time that day, and each time the tears were caused by him. How could this one person who brought her so much happiness cause her so much pain? She could sense Alex shifting uneasily behind her. "You can leave now, Alex," Mia said bitterly.

"I just…I just wanted to thank you," Alex began.

"No, do not thank me," Mia said harshly. "I did'nt stop Isaac to save you. I was saving him for the agony he would feel later on from killing a worthless person such as yourself."

Alex flinched as he heard Mia's sharp words stab at his heart and watched her run after Isaac, now disappearing from his life forever. He brought his fingers to his lips, and kissed the tips as a gesture of bidding farewell. "And so I bid you adieu, my lovely Mia."

* * *

"And the sun was shining so brightly, too," Garet muttered. "How could I have had such a rotten day when the sun was shining so brightly?"

"Garet, shut up," Ivan moaned as he leaned his head against the pillar that he was tied to. "You have been saying that ever since we got here."

"There has got to be a way for us to escape," Garet insisted as he tried to wrench his hands free from the blood-constricting binds.

"Garet, knock it off," Ivan protested. The two were tied so that any wiggling one might do, the other would feel it. With Garet trying to tug himself away from the pole, Ivan felt himself being crashed into the pole.

"If you don't like our situation, who told you to give our capturers this wonderful suggestion of having the entire village exact revenge before we are killed?" Garet hissed.

Ivan merely rolled his eyes. "I have already been humiliated, kicked, slapped, punched, and spat upon by the villagers. I do not need to suffer from your abuse as well."

"And who got us into that situation as well?" Garet wondered sarcastically.

"Do you remember, Garet, that you told me to make the best decision that I could? You told me that was all I can do, and that was all you would expect me to do."

"And this was your best decision?" Garet sneered unkindly. "I expected anything but this."

"I know that you never completely trusted me until lately," Ivan continued speaking as he closed his eyes. "Even recently, I can tell you were still unsure about me. After all, I am the boy that can read minds, but you cannot read mine, or my intentions. However, that time on the ship, I can sense that you have fully placed your trust into me, like the trust that you have in Isaac. Garet, for the sake of all that has passed between us, I beg you that you place your trust in me once more."

Garet sighed as he leaned his own head against the pillar. "I… feel indignant about our situation, I suppose. I guess I am just a little confused about your decision. But if you ask me to place my faith in you again, I'm afraid the answer is no."

Ivan lowered his head, blinking back tears. He had always expected this. He knew that he would always remain as the frightening boy that could read minds. The villagers in Vault always whispered nasty comments about him behind his back, about how he wasn't _normal, _about how he was a monster. He had grown accustomed to such comments, but this blatant confession from Garet tore at his heart. This time it hurt.

"The answer is no because I have never lost faith in you."

Ivan snapped his head up, shocked. 

"Ivan, I never stopped trusting you. I never stopped believing that you were doing the best that you could. The reason for that is because you are my friend, now, Ivan, and I know that you will never betray me. So even if I end up dead, I died without any regrets of trusting you."

"Thank you, Garet," Ivan said with a small smile as he watched several drops of water dampen the dirt by his feet, glistening drops that beaconed like lights of hope.

* * *

Isaac and Mia trudged side by side, silently, towards the general direction from which Isaac had seen the red lights of Garet's Psynergy. The incident from before was still playing in their minds, but neither were willing to talk about it. Neither of them could strike up the courage to say anything to each other; each of them was too preoccupied by private thoughts and fears. They settled for saying nothing, and an awkward silence lingered between the two. They remained this way as they left the forest, walked along the shore, and finally neared their ship, separated by only the seawater that was between them and the ships. 

Isaac frowned, but "Hmm…" was the only comment he was willing to make.

"The ship looks awfully quiet from here," Mia said, voicing Isaac's concern.

"Garet and Ivan should be up there," Isaac said doubtfully.

"Only one way to find out," and with saying that, Mia walked out into the sea.

Isaac watched bewildered as Mia continued to push her way further out into sea. When far out enough, she dived into the water and started to swim easily towards the ship. Catching onto Mia's meaning, Isaac quickly hurried after her. However, he was unable to swim as quickly and as smoothly as Mia did, and his exhaustion, both mental and physical, was taking its toll on him. When he finally approached the ship, slightly out of breath, he found Mia waiting for him.

"Is there something wrong?" Isaac wheezed out.

"Do you have some rope?" Mia asked. "If you do not, we will have to think of a way to board the ship."

"I don't have any. Someone aboard will have to throw us a rope. Garet! Ivan! Are you up there?" Isaac shouted.

"They are not there," Mia said with a shake of the head. "I have already called for them, but they have yet to reply."

Isaac felt his heart sank, but he struggled to stay optimistic. "Perhaps they are in the cabin, trying to stay out of the rain, so they cannot hear us."

He felt Mia place her hand on his arm as she continued to tread water. He turned to see her smile gently. "I am sure they are fine. Let's think of a way to board the ship."

"Why do we not just use Frost to form a column?" 

"No, Isaac," Mia said with a shake of the head. "We are in the water, and we do not know how Frost would affect us. I do not even know if we could use Frost on such a large body of water. Also, it would be difficult to climb up on a column floating on sea water."

Isaac nodded weakly, agreeing with Mia's sound logic once again, as Mia turned away to face the ship. He watched Mia as she muttered all sorts of plans to board the ship, seeing the hope and determination in her eyes, the same hope and determination that had strengthened his heart whenever he was feeling low. He felt confused as the wide range of feelings pounded inside his head, the memory of Mia intervening to save Alex replaying over and over.

"Isaac?" Mia called, face turning slightly red. Isaac had been staring at her for a few minutes. She had been calling his name for a while, but he seemed to have spaced out.

"Huh?" Isaac said, blinking as he cleared his mind, each blink driving the incident from before and his own feelings deeper into his mind, letting them lurk there in his subconscious until they came to plague him again in his nightmares.

"I said that I had an idea," Mia began patiently.

"What is it?"

"Watch," Mia simply replied. She moved closer towards the ship as she placed one of her dainty white-gloved hand upon the wet surface. The water surrounding her gently began to swirl around her as she closed her eyes, emitting a soft blue light. When she opened them again, she called out in a strong, clear voice, "FROST!" 

Baffled, Isaac watched as the blue light around Mia focused onto hand before shooting out from each one of her fingertips and crawling into the ship's hull. The blue lights wormed their ways all over the wooden surface, crawling like insects as they rushed to the top. The trail that the lights left behind glowed dimly before it went out, leaving a trail of crystallized ice. When the lights completely faded, a sleek, smooth covering of solid ice covered the entire side of the ship.

 "Mia!" Isaac exclaimed in horror. "If you cover the side of the ship entirely with ice, how do you expect us to climb aboard the ship?"

Mia gave a small smile before she closed her eyes once more. "ICE MISSILE!"

This time, the blue lights remained in the sky, twitching and morphing into sharp, deadly looking icicles. The sky was soon filled with these dangerous icy blades, and when the last light formed into ice, every one of them launched themselves toward the side of the ship with a loud thunck.

Isaac peered from behind his hands as he watched the Ice Missiles lodge themselves firmly into the solid ice war, which prevented them from skewering the ship. To his amazement, every one of the ice remained firmly in the ice war, creating the path they needed to climb aboard the ship.

"Amazing!" Isaac exclaimed as Mia beamed happily.

"What are we waiting for, then?" Mia asked as she began to pull herself out of the water. "Let us go find Garet and Ivan!"

Isaac hurried after her as he started up on another path. The two of them, using the Ice Missiles as steps, quickly clambered up the side of the ship. Each of the Missiles stayed faithfully in the wall, allowing steady climbing and sure footing. In a matter of minutes, the two soon hoisted themselves over the railing onto the ship's deck.

A shock awaited them when they came aboard. Although faint and hard to tell, Isaac and Mia instantly knew that a battle had taken place while they were gone. The Lemurian ship was magical and was not easily damaged by Psynergy. However, small burnt marks and skid marks left behind some sort of tornado could be seen across the deck. The battle must have been fierce in order to produce such results. With such a terrible battle and the disappearance of Garet and Ivan, Isaac and Mia lost whatever hope they had left in finding their friends safe and sound aboard the ship. Putting two and two together, they could picture the worst.

"Maybe they were injured and they are resting inside the cabin. They must be really tired and have fallen asleep, so they could not hear us calling," Mia breathed her last optimistic hopes.

"I doubt it," Isaac croaked as he approached the cabin door. He stood face to face with the dragon that guarded the door, his hand stretched out for the doorknob. However, his hand trembled as he hesitated before opening it.

"Isaac," Mia said softly from behind.

Isaac inhaled deeply as he closed his eyes. He thrust his hand out and felt the knob in his hands. Before he could open it, however, something stopped him.

_"Isaac, if you are listening to this, it means that you must have returned back onto the ship and found out that Garet and I are missing. I do not know if this message will work, or if it is very clear, but I must warn you that we have been abducted by mysterious people. Be careful, they are strong. We fear that they might be some ty-pe of M-m-mercury…"_

"Ivan, hold on, where are you guys?" Isaac shouted frantically at the knob, tugging at it, as the message cut off abruptly. 

"Isaac, what is wrong?" Mia asked, concerned, holding his arm still from its attack on the poor doorknob.

"That was a message left from Ivan. They had been abducted. We have to go find them!"

"Yes, but where did you want to start?" Mia asked. "We do not know where they are. How could we find them?"

"I…I do not know!" Isaac said as he sank down to the wooden surface, burying his face into his arms. "I do not know what to do. I can't do anything!"

"Isaac, that's not true," Mia said softly as she bended down next to Isaac.

"It is true, I can't do anything! I couldn't save you from those hands and I couldn't stop your pain when you saw Alex. You did not say anything, but I knew that you were hurt. Your eyes were cold yet sad. Instead of easing your pain, I made it worse. And now, I cannot even help my best friends!"

Mia was touched to hear these words from Isaac. It was one of his truest confessions that she had ever heard from him. Usually Isaac remained silent, and when he spoke, it was rarely to say how he was feeling. If they were not in a dire situation, she wanted to fall into his arms and comfort him, holding him close to her heart. Yet, she could not think of the right thing to say to comfort him. "Isaac…"

"Get up, Isaac," a voice called from behind the two.

Isaac and Mia turned to see Alex aboard the ship.

"Alex!" Mia exclaimed as Isaac growled from behind her.

"Don't be such a pathetic fool, Isaac," Alex scoffed. "Whimpering like a dog on the floor. Really, that is quite unlike you. Where is the Isaac that would have thought of a way to rescue Garet and Ivan?"

"Do not judge when you do not understand what is going on!" Isaac shouted.

Alex chuckled to himself as he lowered his head. Such ironic words. If only Isaac had heeded those words himself. "I know what I see, and I see that you are giving up."

"I am not!" Isaac said fiercely as he stood up. 

"Do not make such assumptions, Alex," Mia said. "For how do you expect him to find them if he does not know where they are?"

"By asking for help."

"From whom?" Isaac laughed. "The trees?"

"Why, Isaac, I am hurt," Alex feigned as he brought a hand to his heart. "If you have not forgotten, I know where the inhabitants of this area live. Remember? The Champans? I told you that they were a fierce group."

"Why would you want to help?" Isaac laughed. "How do we know it is not a trap?"

"Simply because I owe you," Alex said. "You spared my life, I return the favor by giving you the chance to save the lives of your two friends. It is a matter of honor."

"Honor? And what do you know of honor?" Isaac spat. "You betrayed Mia and your own clan, your own blood! What honor would you have?"

Suddenly, Alex appeared in front of Isaac and smacked him squarely across the face, shocking both Isaac and Mia.

"Alex!" Mia exclaimed.

Alex grabbed the front of Isaac's shirt. "Listen, Isaac," he hissed. "You may think that you are some golden boy, but maybe you should listen to your own words. Do not judge what you do not know what is going on. Do you think that you can see through me, Isaac? Am I a glass doll open to display? Do not think that you understand me, Isaac, for trust me, you do not know a thing about me." 

With that, Alex released Isaac, pushing him away. For a split second, Isaac thought he saw pain flashing through Alex's eyes. Isaac watched silently as Alex stood by the railing, brushing his white bangs away from his blue eyes. A strange sort of sadness emanated from them, mourning of loneliness and misunderstanding. Isaac wondered if perhaps he really was too harsh when Alex turned around once more, eyes cold and empty. 

"Well, Isaac, what will it be? Will you trust an 'honor-less' man like me?" Alex sneered.

"Fine, I will trust you this one time," Isaac said, closing his eyes in admittance of defeat.

"Good."

* * *

Isaac and Mia remained hidden in the outskirts of the forest as they looked out upon a small clearing. In the center was a wooden post with a crossbeam at the top, looking similar to the gallows minus the noose. A pit was underneath the wooden frame and people were throwing firewood into the hole, and it was evident that the people planned to burn their friends by slowly lowering them into the pit. It appeared to be only a little before the sun would rise, but a few people were already in the clearing. Beyond the clearing they could make out a waterfall, the hiding place of the Champans. The two Adepts were nervous because they had rushed here without a plan. Everything will have to be done on impromptu. One careless mistake, and it would be the lives of Garet and Ivan that will have to pay the price.

It was always the darkest hour before dawn.

* * *

As the sun rose, and the first rays reached the edge of the clearing, a cry erupted from the people. Before sunrise, more people had gathered in the clearing, and the anger in their voices could be detected even from where Isaac and Mia stood in the outskirts. They waited impatiently for the death of the men that had caused their men to fall.

Suddenly, booing and hissing filled the air as Isaac and Mia narrowed their eyes to see the small figures of Garet and Ivan being dragged towards the center. Their wrists appeared to be bound as the ropes tied around their necks were cruelly pulled by two men. Isaac and Mia held their breath as they watched a man loop a long rope through Garet's and Ivan's bounded wrists. The rope was then tossed over the crossbeam and caught by several men that then proceeded to heave. Garet's and Ivan's arms jerked upwards, and Ivan let out a small cry of pain. The people laughed as the men continued to pull the rope until the two were dangling a few feet off the ground. A fire was started and even Isaac and Mia could see traces of the flames leaping upwards. The men then proceeded to lower the rope slowly.

"They are planning to _cook_ Garet and Ivan," Mia gasped, horrified.

"Sheesh, what a complicated and slow process just to kill people," Isaac muttered. 

"Isaac!" Mia hissed.

"Not that I would prefer them to kill Garet and Ivan in a faster way," Isaac continued hastily.

"Stop being so morbid," Mia scolded. "We have to do something!"

Then, to Mia's horror, Isaac charged out of their hiding place. Mia, shocked and unsure of what to do, followed.

"Intruders!" one of the people shouted. All eyes diverted from Ivan as they turned to stare at Isaac and Mia.

"This was your plan?" Mia hissed.

"Well, I did something!" Isaac muttered back, realizing why he had always thought things through before he took action.

"They are companions to the enemies!" a man cried out. "They are trying to save them! Kill all of them!"

"What!?" Garet exclaimed.

"NO!" Isaac cried as he saw the men loosen their grips on the rope.

"Garet! Ivan!" Mia screamed. 

Isaac and Mia watched in horror as the two Adepts started to plunge toward the fiery pit.

"Garet! Ivan!" Isaac shouted.

"Release GUST!" Ivan shouted.

To the amazement of everyone but Ivan, a purple furry creature popped up onto Ivan's head. A great purple light was released from the creature as mighty wind gusts appeared, catching the two Adepts on its windy current and pushing them away from the pit. Unfortunately, the plan did not go smoothly as Ivan and Garet crashed into the ground.

"Ow, that was not fun," Garet moaned, rubbing his sore wrists.

Isaac and Mia had rushed to the two Adepts as soon as they saw Gust and figured out Ivan's idea. Mia immediately took on the role as a motherly figure as she turned the two Adepts around and around as she looked for serious wounds and injuries, chiding herself for not making sure that they were all stocked up with replenishing items.

"Mia," Isaac coughed, as Mia continued to preen over the two Adepts. "While I am sure that Garet and Ivan appreciate the check-up, I am afraid that we have a bigger issue on hand."

Mia looked up to see the crowd of angry people surrounding them. 

"Do we have to fight them all?" Garet groaned.

"Even if you were in the best condition, which you are not, I do not think we can outlast them just by their sheer number," Isaac said, biting his lip.

"Now what?" Ivan asked.

"Anyone? A plan?" Isaac asked helplessly.

"Attack the intruders!" one of the people called.

"Praying sounds like a good idea," Garet suggested.

"This is no time to joke!" Mia said furiously.

"Well, if this is the way things are, we will just have to put up the best fight," Isaac said.

Before the Adepts could draw their weapons, however, a voice called out.

"Hold it!"

_~To be continued in Chapter 4-CHAMPA_


	5. Chapter 4 CHAMPA

**Disclaimer:** To see the full disclaimer, see the prelude. Golden Sun belongs to Camelot and Nintendo. This is a fanfiction, written solely for entertainment.

**A/N Please Read**: Pardon my extremely long author note, but a few people have now been telling me that they want me to use more apostrophes. I really didn't think that it was such a big deal, but… I am now used to spelling things out, and have grown fond of saying cannot instead of can't, because I feel that each of them have a different emphasis. "I can't do it," and "I cannot do it" is not the same to me. I will use whichever one I feel works best. However, if it really bugs you all, then I'll pay note and use apostrophes a bit more while I'm typing. 

I have also re-edited all of the previous chapters. Nothing major changed, so you don't have to go back and read it again. If anything is still confusing, let me know how it is confusing so that I can fix it. They always make sense to me because I wrote it =D. Without further ado, the next chapter!

_"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."-Marcel Proust_

Chapter 4. CHAMPA 

"Hold it!" a voice called out from behind the Adepts.

Isaac and his friends turned to see the crowd of people part to let someone walk through. Out of the sea of brown and black, one blue haired man walked through. He stood out from the rest of the people, not solely because of his hair color, but because he seemed to carry the air of authority. His eyes were a bright gold that shone with the wisdom and experience of an old man, although the man before them could not have been more than twenty some years of age.

"That was a Djinni, wasn't it?" the man asked the Adepts enthusiastically.

Ivan glanced hesitantly at Isaac before nodding. 

"Excellent!" the man beamed. "Follow me."

The man turned, prepared to leave. The Adepts, however, hesitated to move, warily watching the man.

"Please," the man called without looking back, "I must ask you to trust me for now, Isaac. If you want, you can have your mage Mind Read my intentions."

Isaac looked surprised to hear the man call him by his name. "How did you-"

"He can be trusted," Ivan said solemnly.

"We have to hurry," the man pressed.

Ivan nodded and began to follow the man. The other Adepts, puzzled, hurried after the two. The rest of the crowd, disappointed at the cessation of their kill, found their interests stirred up again as they also followed the man and the Adepts.

"Where are we going anyway?" Garet wondered.

 The Adepts had been weaving through the forest, turning this way and that. Isaac glanced back nervously, realizing that the man was leading them further and further away from the shore and closer and closer towards the other end of the forest. He could only faintly make out what appeared to be the edge of the forest as the trees around them began to slowly thin out. Before him he could make out a mountain range that stretched out before him for miles, hiding a small village to the northeast. A cascade of spring water from further up the mountains came gushing down near the village, forming a great waterfall that became a river, the lifeline of the village. 

"This must be Champa," Mia said softly to Isaac, "the village that Alex told us about. It appears that he wasn't lying that time."

Isaac nodded begrudgingly, hating the idea of having to admit Alex was right. They had come up to the riverbank now and could hear the bustling noises of people in the village waking up and starting their daily routine. To the amazement of the Adepts, however, the man did not look like he was planning to cross the river to reach the village and halted by the riverbank instead.  

"That was close. We almost did not make it," the man sighed as he watched the dawning sun climb higher into the sky, casting a warm glow as it crept slowly to chase away the shadows.

"Make what?" Garet asked.

"Shh," the man shushed. Without looking again, he called, "All of you who have followed, return to your normal posts."

The crowd behind the Adepts grumbled and groaned as the people left, slinking back into the forest. The man ignored their complaints as he carefully waded out into the river, stopping when he reached the middle, turning to watch the Adepts expectantly. The Adepts cautiously followed suit and waded toward the center. Upon reaching there, the man faced the roaring waterfall. 

"What is he doing?" Garet asked. "He's just standing there."

A blue aura suddenly shot off the man and leapt towards the waterfall.

"What is going on?"

The floor then began to rumble gently, surprising the Adepts. The water that fell down the mountain's face continued to pour down in with a rush, but the water began to diverge to form a doorway large enough to fit a man as it neared the bottom. The man walked right up to the doorway and through it, poking his head back to tell the Adepts to hurry. Having seen stranger things, the Adepts followed without a question. 

"Wow," Ivan said in admiration as he walked in.

Stretched before the Adepts was a large cavern. Upon the walls near the waterfall were fiery balls that provided light that appeared to be a soft rosy morning glow, while the fire in the interior was a much brighter color. The Adepts clambered out of the water onto a surprisingly warm surface as several people came up to the Adepts blankets to dry themselves with.

"Thank you," Mia said absentmindedly as she wrapped herself in the wooly warmth of the blanket. "These lights near the front… they are made so that they would match the brightness of the light outside, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," the man said, pleased. "You have a keen eye. These lights are to prevent the villagers from thinking that there is something suspicious in here."

"Why?" Isaac asked suspiciously. "Are the villagers not your kindred? Why would you bring us here, behind a waterfall, instead of taking us to the village?"

"All in due time, Isaac," the man said cheerfully. "However, I am sure that you would all prefer to talk after a warm bath and a good meal, right? The hot springs in here are quite delightful, and I will have the cooks prepare a hearty breakfast."

"I believe that we should know a little more about you and what has been happening before we could simply trust you and relax," Isaac insisted.

"I would, but…" the man started.

Suddenly, a rumbling noise filled the air.

"But I find that it is your friend that would rather wash and eat before talking," the man finished amused.

Isaac turned to see a sheepish Garet. "Sorry, Isaac, but I have not eaten since yesterday's lunch."

Isaac sighed as he gave up and allowed the people to drag him off to the hot springs.

* * *

"Wow," Garet said in admiration, eyes shining.

"Careful, Garet, you're drooling," Mia teased as she saw what Garet was admiring.

"Yum, food," Ivan smiled. "I'm hungry."

Isaac rolled his eyes as he listened to his friends admired the generous spread covering a large table before them. After all the traveling and camping out they had done, he thought they would have grown used to skipping a meal every now and then. Just then, his stomach growled. 

"So Isaac is human, too," Ivan laughed, deciding to reveal Isaac's thoughts. "What was all that we should be able to skip a meal every now and then?"

Isaac colored slightly as the man approached the Adepts.

"Please, sit down."

"Wait, is all of this food for just the five of us?" Garet asked.

"Who else would the food be for?" the man shrugged.

"And there is no catch?" Garet continued.

"Of course not!"

"Oh, I am so happy!" Garet cried as he plunked down into a seat.

"Garet, where are your manners?" Mia hissed. She turned to the man and bowed her head gracefully. "Thank you so much for your hospitality." 

"Think nothing of it," the man said kindly as he kissed her hand in a chivalrous manner.

"Yes, so let us all sit down and eat," Isaac interrupted loudly.

Ivan sniggered into his hand as he sat down next to Garet, leaving Mia to sit between Isaac and the man. Isaac shot a cold look at Ivan and glared at the man.

"So tell us just who exactly are you," Isaac demanded, pushing aside any feeling of graciousness.

"Ah, pardon my rudeness," the man smiled. "My name is Picard."

"I do not know anyone by the name of Picard. How did you know our names?"

"I didn't. You looked like the hero of lore, Izzaik, but because I am aware that the name 'Izzaik' is not very common anymore, I simply called you Isaac. They say that the name fits a person. And how true it proves to be this time," Picard said amusingly.

"What are you talking about? And why would you feed us after you tried to kill us? How do we know that the food is not poisoned?"

Garet gasped and immediately dropped the roll he was biting into and started gagging.

"Garet, the roll is not poisoned," Ivan said with a roll of the eyes. 

"Ah, the event from this morning was a misunderstanding. I just found out about the execution this morning, and I arrived to find out that you were Adepts. And I would not go through all this trouble just to poison you here."

Garet sighed in relief as he picked up his roll and bit into it again as he and Ivan watched the one-sided battle Isaac was waging against Picard. Isaac seemed to be debating with himself mentally about whether to eat or not as he stared at the rolls intently. Mia finally rolled her eyes as she grabbed a roll and stuffed it into Isaac's mouth.

"Isaac, you are not a rock. Eat," she demanded.

Picard observed all of this with amusement. A man dropped by his side and whispered something into his ear. The others watched silently as Picard's normally kind eyes became hard and cold. He nodded curtly and stood up.

"Please continue with your meals," he said gracefully. "I am afraid that I will have to leave to take care of some business."

"Is there something we could do to help?" Mia asked.

Picard shook his head as he started to leave. "No, it is quite all right. I will return promptly. Enjoy your meal."

 "He seemed to be really worried," Ivan commented as he sipped his drink. 

"I don't care," Isaac retorted.

"I wonder what got him so upset," Mia wondered.

Just then, someone burst into the room. "Picard!"

"Picard just left. Can we help you with anything?" Mia asked the distraught man.

"The monsters are too much! We need his help."

"Monsters?" Garet exclaimed as he stood up.

"Isaac, we have to help," Ivan said.

Isaac nodded. "Everyone, prepare yourself!"

* * *

"What is this?" Picard exclaimed, alarmed. "How did they all get in here?"

Picard had burst into what appeared to be the bottom of an empty well. The walls of the well were a deep blue color, and splendidly carved, silver characters of an ancient language could be seen as they snaked up the walls. 

"We can't hold them!" a voice called from above.

Picard tilted his head back to see looming over him five great watery bird-like creatures. Their icy beaks glittered in the light as they stretched their wings to fill the entire room. The birds screeched loudly as they flapped their wings. Several men tried to constrain the creatures by throwing ropes around the birds, but the birds were too strong. No sooner had the men finally captured one of the birds did the bird simply outstretch its huge wings and easily break through the ropes.

One of the men, a Beast Tamer, raised his whip. "BLUE DRAGON!"

By his side, a small, blue dragon appeared. The dragon roared as it spewed icy shards toward the birds. However, the birds easily dodged the shards and flapped their own wings, sending ice missiles toward the men. Most of them quickly used Glacier to form a frozen barrier between them and the attack, but a few of the men were still injured as the missiles sliced through their arms and legs, fortunately missing any vital spots.

"Retreat!" Picard shouted at the men. "Take the injured and have the women tend to them!"

"What about you?" one of the men called. "You cannot possibly take on all five of the creatures!"

Picard shook his head. He knew that the levels of the birds easily surpassed the levels of the men. It would be better for them to leave. "Just go! I will be fine!"

The men hesitated, but followed his orders. Several of the men helped the injured while the remaining men kept guard to ward off the attack. Once the injured were able to retreat, the rest of the men also left.

The birds screeched ferociously to see that their victims had left. They then spied the lone Picard at the bottom of the well. One of the birds began to beat its wings maniacally as ice shards fell towards Picard.

'Shit, they're water creatures. That means that they are not vulnerable to my attacks. Five against one means that I am the one at a disadvantage… How am I going to defend myself against this?' Picard thought nervously. His eyes widened when he noted that a particularly large ice shard was crashing towards him. He leapt backward to only notice that another shard was heading his way.

"Picard, duck!" a voice called. "FIREBALL!"

Picard had dropped to the floor, covering his neck and head area. He could hear the whizzing sound of something flying above his head and could feel the warmth of fire. Soon, the warmth was replaced with small water droplets that sprinkled over him. He raised his head to see that the ice shards had been destroyed. Standing around him were Isaac, Garet, Ivan, and Mia, weapons raised, knees bent, ready and alert to the slightest action from the monsters.

"Are you all right, Picard?" Mia asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks to you guys," Picard replied as he stood up.

"Let's take care of this," Garet said. 

"Watch out, a bird is flying straight towards us," Ivan cautioned.

"ERUPTION!" Garet shouted.

The floor shuddered as the Adepts looked down. The ground glowed a fiery red, and the Adepts' feet were starting to feel a scorching heat. Rocks started to spew out from the center of the circle and a peak of magma could be seen.

"Garet!" Mia shrieked. "We are the only people on the ground. The eruption is going to burn us!"  
"Oh…" was all Garet could reply. 

"Release SHADE!" Picard called.

"A Djinni!?" Isaac gasped.

"Now is not the time for that, Isaac!" Ivan said as he watched the lava approached them.

The fire burst forth as the Adepts quickly leaped back, moving into the walls. However, when the fiery liquid gushed toward the Adepts, a blue barrier appeared before them, absorbing much of the strength of the attack. However, the Adepts did not leave the attack without any damage.

"Ow…" Ivan whined as he stood on one foot.

"Sorry," Garet said meekly. 

"It is all right, Garet. I know that you only intended to use your stronger attacks to help destroy the enemy," Picard said sympathetically as Mia cast Wish Well on the group.

The birds had hung back when they saw the bubbling fire, not wanting to have an early death. As the lava disappeared, however, the birds let out their war cries once more. One bird started to plunge towards the Adepts again, icy claws outstretched to slash a human body.

"RAGNAROK!" Isaac called.

The giant sword appeared as Isaac raised his own Gaia Blade. When he slashed the sword, the magical one also moved. The bird tried to dodge the attack, but the sword still managed to slash a wing. It tried to pull out of the attack and fly upwards, but crashed into a wall. Ivan faced the wall and outstretched his hand, a purple ball of light gathering into his hand.

"TEMPEST!" Ivan shouted.

Four columns of purplish wind rose from the ground and grew taller as they hungrily sought the injured bird. Upon reaching their prey, the wind engulfed the creature. An anguish cry could be heard from before the creature became nothing more than dust. One of the birds, seeing the fate of their comrades, fled. Another bird attempted to lead, but the leader of the creatures, the largest bird with the brightest plumages, saw poorly of desertion. The leader opened its beak as a blue light gathered there before forming into a bright beam that would destroy the deserter, leaving only two birds left.

"ICE MISSLE!" Mia cried.

"STONE SPIRE!" Isaac shouted.

"INFERNO!" Garet yelled.

Together in a brilliant flash of blue, yellow, and red, the combination of ice shards, rocky spires, and flaming fireballs collided with the remaining two birds, easily destroying them both. The birds turned into water droplets that fell like rain upon the Adepts as something shiny fell from the sky. It landed softly into the dirt and glittered brightly.

"What is that?" Garet asked.

Picard walked over to pick up a glimmering necklace on a shimmering chain. The pendant was shaped as a fiery sun, the rays shining outward. In the center of the sun was a golden gleaming gem. 

"It looks like you have retrieved my stolen treasure," a voice said gravely.

The five Adepts turned to see an elderly woman approach them. She was short with long gray hair tied up on top of her head. She had wise bright brown, almost orange-colored, eyes. Her robes were of a rich orange color as well and were made of a high quality silk, possibly from the silk city of Xian. Two pairs of hoops hung on each of her ears. She walked over to them slowly.

"Picard, I must thank you for retrieving my treasure again."

"Again?" Mia asked, confused.

"Yes, these monsters constantly return to try and steal my treasure. It is only because of Picard's kindness that the treasure is still safe."

"Ah, Lady Obaba," Picard began, "thank you for your kindness, but I was not the one who retrieved the necklace."

"What are you talking about?" Obaba asked.

"The ones who retrieved the necklace… would be them," Picard said as he stepped aside.

"Ah, I thank you, strangers, for retrieving the necklace. It is a very important keepsake of mine."

"But why would the monsters try to steal the necklace?" Ivan asked.

Obaba and Picard shared a significant look. "I am afraid that you would not understand now," Obaba said, shaking her head. "However, I must reward you for your help."

"Oh, no, a reward is not necessary," Mia said.

"I insist," Obaba said. She raised her wrinkled hand and started chanting something in an ancient language.

"What is she doing?" Garet asked.

"Shh…" Picard shushed.

"… Heart of the earth, fury of the forge's flames, grant me your treasure!"

The ground beneath the Adepts' feet glowed brightly as the words embedded in the walls lit up. A tremor could be felt as the light grew brighter and brighter when suddenly four beams of light burst through the earth. The Adepts shielded their eyes from the bright light and the pebbles that were sent flying from the sudden explosion of light. When the lights finally dimmed, the Adepts watched silently as four gems hovered before their eyes. They were all an onyx color with an asterism that shinned and winked at the Adepts.

"Rocks?" Garet whispered softly in confusion.

"Shush," Mia said as she nudged him in the ribs.

"No, they are not just rocks," Obaba said, resting her gaze on Isaac. "I can see that you are not ordinary travelers. Although you certainly do not look like 'mighty warriors,' ( nobody every looks like a mighty warrior to Obaba) I believe it is best that you take these with you."

"What are they for?" Ivan asked curiously.

"I do not know," Obaba said with a shrug.

"Wha-what?" Garet blurted suddenly. "You do not know!? Then why are you giving them to us?"

"I don't need them," Obaba said lightly. "And they aren't doing anything embedded in the ground. So I decided to pass them onto you. Maybe you can find a use for them on your travels."

The Adepts felt a gigantic sweat drop rolling down their heads as Obaba turned to Picard.

"Picard, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Anything, Lady Obaba," Picard said with a fluid bow.

"I know it is a bother to constantly call you over here from your home to help with our trouble, so I finally decided to pass the necklace onto you. May you guard it well from your home land."

"Lady Obaba, I cannot possibly take your most precious treasure," Picard argued. "It is not a problem at all to come over when you are in trouble. After all, we have to stick together during times like this."

"Picard, please do me this favor," Obaba insisted.

"As you wish, then, Lady Obaba."

Picard delicately took the necklace into his own hands and placed it around his neck, hiding it underneath his tunic. 

"Heart of the earth, fury of the forge's flames, grant me flight!" Obaba chanted as a fiery bird emerged from the earth. The bird bowed its head, allowing Obaba to climb around its neck. "Thank you, Picard. I will be leaving now before the villagers discover that I am here." 

Saying that, the bird took flight upwards. The Adepts watched in confusion while Picard bowed once more. When he turned to face the Adepts, the dam broke.

"Who is that?" Garet wondered.

"Where is your home land?" Mia asked.

"What was Obaba chanting?" Ivan questioned.

"Just what the hell is going on!??" Isaac demanded.

"One at a time, one at the time," Picard said, raising his two hands like he was surrendering. "That was Lady Obaba, the last possessor of the ancient secrets of Ankhol, which is what you heard her chanting. This is her forge, at the bottom of the rocky cliffs that are the home to many of the Champans. She's quite talented. There is supposedly nothing that she cannot fix, no matter how broken it is. Ankhol is a long-lost ancient civilization, much like Lemuria-my homeland."

"Lemuria!?" the Adepts gasped.

"Is there something wrong?" Picard asked, confused.

* * *

After a long time and after eating more food, the Adepts had finally finished narrating their story, and filling in the missing pieces of what had gone on during their short period of separation, to Picard. Picard had stayed remarkably quiet, only asking the occasional questions, and looked neither surprised nor skeptical to hear about Mt. Aleph and the elemental stars.

"So, this is what has been happening all these years," Picard said, furrowing his forehead in deep thought. "That will explain what has been happening. Things have changed greatly from the way they have been."

"Explain what? I still have no idea what you are talking about," Garet said.

Picard gave a small, enigmatic smile. "One day you will see. Right now is not the time or place for a history and philosophy lesson."

"What do you mean?" Ivan asked suspiciously. "You have told us barely anything about yourself, yet we have told you everything about ourselves. Why all this secrecy?"

"I would love to chat with you more, but it is time for you all to leave. You may not know it, but we have talked for several hours. The sun will be setting soon, and because of the pressing nature of your mission, you must leave as soon as possible. Once the villagers have returned to their homes, you will be taken back to your ship."

"Why do you and the others hide from the rest of the villagers?" Isaac asked.

"Ah, Isaac, Garet, and Mia, you may not understand because Adepts are looked upon favorably in your towns, but Ivan may know of what I speak about. Those who do not understand about Psynergy would rarely treat Adepts kindly. The people that reside in these caves are the last few Adepts from the Ankholian line. To the Champans, they do not exist. If the Champans should find out about their existence, what do you think will happen to them? They will be persecuted or used to raise money for the villagers by having them display their powers for a price. The Champans have fallen upon hard times, and will rely solely on Psynergy if they should learn of its existence. I come here often to aid the remaining Adepts here during their times of trouble, and so Champa is like a second home to me. It is a shame that things are coming to be like this," Picard said with a sigh.

"Why are things like this? It is just not fair," Mia protested.

Picard laughed. "You are all so naïve. You have much to learn about the way things are in Weyard."

Garet wrinkled his nose at being called naïve. "That is not true!"

Picard only smiled knowingly, like a parent smiling at a child. "Only time will tell."

"Master Picard," a man called from the doorway. "The time has come."

"Speaking of time… Well, my friends, it looks like it is time for you to depart. I have sent people to repair your ship and restock your supplies to make up for the horrendous error made this morning, and this man will take you to your ship. I have enjoyed meeting the four of you. I wish you luck on your journey!"

"You are not going to come send us off?" Mia asked.

"I am afraid not, my dear Mia, but I am sure that we will meet again. If you intend to sail for Lemuria, you are directly northwest of Lemuria right now. However, if I may make a suggestion, I would not rely on the lighthouse for guidance."

"Why not?" Isaac asked suspiciously.

"This part of the Great Eastern Sea is guarded over by both Lemuria and Champa. The Champans will attack those who wander into this area, and the Lemurians will throw sailors off by creating an illusion."

"So that's what it was!" Ivan gasped. "That is why people cannot find Lemuria. And that look-alike…"

"The what?" Picard asked.

"No… It's nothing."

"I recommend that you follow your instincts. Perhaps you will fare better that way."

The Adepts stood up and hesitated, not ready to leave or willing to stay. They started following the man out of the room when Picard called out to them.

"One last piece of advice-looks can be deceiving. Good luck then!" Picard said with a suspicious sweet smile.

"I still do not quite trust that man," Isaac muttered as the Adepts trailed the man on the familiar path through the cave.

"I think your opinion is biased," Ivan teased gently. "I think you should lighten up. After all that has happened…"

"My opinion is not biased!"

"Shh," the man shushed the Adepts as they slipped away from the waterfall. Isaac reddened sheepishly and the Adepts remained silent until they reached the safety of the trees.

"After all that has happened, I just want to go to sleep," Garet yawned.

"I am just glad that all four of us are able to walk down this path together," Mia said.

"A lot has happened while we were separated," Ivan brought up thoughtfully. "I learned a lot during that time of separation."

"What did you learn?" Mia asked.

"How… we are the strongest as a team. When we were separated, we were in danger of being destroyed. That was the first time since all four of us teamed up together that we had been separated. If we are to overcome any future challenges, we will have to do it as a team."

"But of course," Isaac smiled. "I would not imagine it to be any other way. Although, it seemed that for a short period of time, you made an excellent leader. That message you left on the doorknob was a stroke of genius." 

"No," Ivan said with a shake of his head. "I was not sure if it would even work. I had to put the remainder of my power into leaving a strong message. I guessed that it would only last for a while, and I was worried that you would not find Mia and return back in time."

"You didn't know!?" Garet exclaimed. "You mean you were gambling with our lives? What if Isaac didn't find Mia in time? Then what would you had done?"

Ivan shrugged. "I don't know. How did you find Mia anyway, Isaac?"

"What do you mean?" Isaac said in surprise.

"Well, you said that you found her with…Alex…in the forest. How did you know she was there, and not drifting somewhere out in sea?"

"Did you forget? You and Garet were the ones who pointed out the way," Isaac said incredulously. 

"Isaac, we were captured." Ivan reminded Isaac. "How could we have pointed out the way?

"I thought that you found Mia with your Mind Read!" 

"No, I was fighting for my life back on the ship."

"Maybe you were hallucinating," Garet commented.

"I was not hallucinating! I saw you two. Garet helped pull me up, and Ivan pointed through the forest. I followed the path, and I found Mia!"

"It wasn't us, Isaac," Ivan said, shaking his head.

"Then…who was it?"

An uneasy silence again fell upon the group. Only the rustling of the leaves, the cooing of the birds, and the scuffling sound of feet moving hurriedly across the earth could be heard. A gentle breeze began to blow, brushing against the Adepts and the leaves. Isaac tilted his head back to feel a beam of sunlight that shined through the leafy canopy overhead. 

"Watch out for the tree-" the guide began.

"Ouch!" Isaac cried.

"-root…"

"Are you okay, Isaac?" Mia asked as she knelt down besides the embarrassed Adept. While enjoying the sunshine, the Venus Adept had tripped over a large tree root. "Are you injured anywhere?"

"Besides my injured pride, I'm fine." Isaac pressed his hand against the root to help push himself up from the forest ground, when something stopped him.

"Isaac? What are you doing?" 

Isaac merely smiled as he stood up. "No, it was nothing."

"Look, I can see the exit!" Garet exclaimed.

The Adepts emerged from the forest, waving farewell to their guide, who had slinked back into the forest. They turned to return back to the ship, but Isaac lingered behind. He turned to face the forest and smiled.

"Thank you…"

"Isaac, let's go!" Garet called happily.

"Off to a new land," Ivan beamed.

"Come on, Isaac," Mia said as she walked back to Isaac, pulling his arm.

"Prepare to leave, everyone!" Isaac smiled, feeling his troubles and worries leave him behind. 

"Bye-bye!" a small voice chirped happily, watching the Adepts sail away.

"Why do you still keep that form?" a green haired, pale skinned girl asked.

"Because I like it!" a brown, spiky haired boy smiled, looking strikingly like Garet.

"Honestly, are you sure you are a forest spirit? You sure do not act like one!"

* * *

"Two whole days have passed by since we left Lalivero, and we are still only by the coast of Angara," Isaac sighed.

"Hey, cheer up Isaac! Don't be such a glum!" Garet scolded.

"We will find Jenna and Lemuria," Ivan said gently.

"Yes, things are looking to be in our favor. It is a red night tonight," Mia said.

The other Adepts looked around them to see that in the darkening sky, traces of a warm red could still be seen.

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight…"

_~To be continued in Chapter 5-MIST_


	6. Chapter 5 MIST

**Disclaimer:** To see the full disclaimer, see the prelude. Golden Sun belongs to Camelot and Nintendo. This is a fanfiction, written solely for entertainment.

_"The rolling mist came down and hid the land: And never home came she."- Charles Kingsley_

Chapter 5. MIST

…Red sky at night, sailor's delight… 

Mia's words from earlier seemed to hang in the air.

… Red sky at morning, sailor takes warning…

The ominous words of an ancient sailor's proverb hung in the air.

…Will you heed the warning?

Mia once again was the one who took the wheel and greeted the rising sun. The sun's fiery red light lit the sky, giving it a pink glow. The silver sea reflected an image that mirrored the dawning sun, making the sun look like a giant fireball that was bursting out of the water. Or like blood that was bursting out of a body. Mia shivered at the thought and struggled to remember something her grandfather once told her, but could not remember exactly what.

"Are you cold?" a voice asked her kindly as something warm and heavy was placed around her shoulders.

Mia tilted her head back to see Isaac standing behind her, wrapping her in a plaid blanket.

"You are up early," Mia teased. "Did Garet wake you guys up again?"

"No," Isaac smiled. "Ivan wanted to sleep in today, so he made sure to cast Sleep several times on Garet last night."

Mia chuckled, her earlier worries pushed aside. A nagging voice in the back of her head continued to bother her, but she ignored the voice for now. "And why are you up, Isaac?"

"Hmm," Isaac pretended to ponder. "I was wondering if maybe one of our lovely Adepts was lonely and wanted company."

"Why how thoughtful of you," Mia played along. "Just who could this Adept be?"

"Well, how about you?"

"Mmm, I would love to have some company."

The two Adepts smiled shyly, standing around awkwardly.

"Argh, what is this?" a voice yawned from behind them.

Isaac and Mia turned around to see Ivan staggering onto the deck.

"Ivan! Why are you up?" Isaac asked in surprise. "I thought you wanted to sleep in."

"I did, but I was bombarded with a sickening sweet feeling." 

Both Isaac and Mia blushed as Ivan yawned again, covering his smile. 'Isaac and Mia are some much fun to tease.'

"Sorry, Ivan," Mia had begun to apologize. "Why don't you go back to sleep?"

"I can't fall asleep again, so I might as well stay up," Ivan said. "Remind me to wake Garet up later. I think I cast one too many Sleep; Garet is sleeping like a rock. By the way, Mia, any idea of how much longer it'll take before we reach Lemuria?"

Mia shook her head. "No, although I feel that we are close."

 "We must be pretty close if the mist is already rolling in."

A huge expanse of nearly opaque mist hung thickly before them, hiding any signs of an island, lest of all a civilization, that existed in the center. The temperature of the air had dropped. An occasional wetness could be felt. Mia bit her lower lip as she tried to recall something that had been bothering her. She absent-mindedly ran her fingers through her head and wrinkled her forehead. 

"Is something wrong?" 

"Hmm?" Mia looked up to see that Isaac had been gently shaking her shoulders. "No, nothing is wrong."

"You do know that if something is wrong you should let us know. By now, if any of us feel something is awry, it is usually true."

"It's nothing," Mia dismissed with a wave of the head. "My head has just been feeling a little foggy."

Ivan laughed. "That's quite funny that your head is feeling foggy and we're sailing through a mist."

Mia shot Ivan a look that showed clearly how funny she thought the situation was.

"Maybe it isn't just a coincidence," Isaac said.

"It's really nothing. Don't fuss over it, Isaac."

Mia watched Isaac nod before leaving with Ivan to check the supplies and to… What was that thing she needed to remind Ivan? There was something else that she was supposed to remember, too. She was never the forgetful type. 'It must have been the lack of sleep,' she reasoned to herself. She had been staying up late and getting up early each day to navigate the ship. It was only logical that her head felt fuzzy. It was nothing to concern Isaac about. Nothing. 

A glance around the empty deck reminded Mia that she was alone at the moment, alone in the chilling mist. The blanket that was wrapped around her shoulders had fallen for a while, but when a chilly breeze blew by she bent down to wrap the blanket once more around her shoulders. Her legs were tired from standing nearly all night and gave out as she sank to the deck. With the blanket wrapped around her tight and her aching legs rested, she felt so comfortable that she wanted to fall asleep on the spot. 

'But I can't,' Mia chided herself. 'I have to… Why is my head so foggy? I just want to sleep.'

She only wanted to stretch out for a second, so she allowed herself to lie onto the deck. She almost sat up again when her cheek came in contact with the damp cool deck, but she settled back as she rested her face against her hands. Her eyelids droop downwards, only for a minute to rest her eyes. Yet it was so comfortable to just settle in and keep her eyes closed. Just a few more minutes and she would get up, a few more minutes.

"Mia, wake up," Isaac said as he shook Mia frantically.

"Maybe we should let her rest," Ivan said with a yawn as he plopped onto the deck. "She had been up for most of the night."

"Yes, but suddenly falling asleep like this is unusual," Isaac said worriedly.

"I can understand, though," Ivan said with another yawn. "I feel awfully tired, too."

Unable to help it, Isaac let out a yawn as well. "I do too. But we can't sleep now. This isn't the time."

Ivan had already sprawled out on the deck, eyes fluttering rapidly. "I just can't stay awake. I'm so tired."

"No, I can't sleep," said Isaac as he gently slapped his face several times. Each time, however, his sleepiness just increased several folds. His head felt too heavy, and it was easier to give in and nestle his head into his folded arms. His consciousness soon subsided as he fell into a deep sleep.

***

"Ivan!" Garet roared as he stomped up the steps toward the deck. "Who said you could cast Sleep on me like that? How could you all let me sleep in like that? Granted, I did like the extra sleep…"

He pursed his lips as he opened the cabin door, prepared to whine some more when he noticed the slight chill. He thought nothing of it as he opened the door and stepped onto the deck. Within a blink, his visibility was almost nothing as he was plunged into the midst of heavy mist.

"Wow, we must be really close to Lemuria! How could you guys not wake me up?" Garet said with a pout. 

However, he received neither reply nor recognition. "Isaac? Ivan? Mia? You guys, this isn't funny. If you're mad that I slept in, it's all Ivan's fault! Honest!"

Garet frowned as he blindly waded through the mist. The mist was so thick he could stick out his tongue and taste a near solid mass. His hands groped widely ahead of him as he tried to make his way to the side of the ship. 

Upon reaching the railing, he narrowed his eyes into small slits as he tried to see _something_. Yet, his burst of energy felt drained and he was already weary. He knew that oversleeping would make him feel tired upon waking, but he had the strange sensation that he had been thrust into a similar situation before. Back in the very early days of their quest when his life was almost in danger, he had been similarly drained of his strength. Unconsciously he sank to his knees, but before he drifted off he saw a shield come up. Just like that time… back in Kolima Forest!

Garet bolted up as he glanced around him, using Flare to temporarily illuminate the area. Where were the others? He noticed that Mia, Isaac, and Ivan were closely sprawled together by the wheel as he rushed over to check on them. Upon approaching them, he sighed with relief as he saw their shields up as well.

"You guys, are you okay?" he said softly, waiting for them to stir. He glanced ahead and paled. "Umh, although I'm sure that you guys deserve more sleep than I do right now… I'm sure you all planned to eventually wake up. So, unless you guys want to permanently rest in peace, can you guys please wake up soon?"

"Hmm?" Ivan muttered groggily as he sat up. "What are you yapping about Garet? I thought I used Sleep on you to keep you from waking us up too early."

"Good morning to you too. In case you wanted to know, we're about to crash into rocks and settle into our watery graves."

"What are you talking about Garet?" Isaac said as he looked around him, noting the dark outline of jagged rocks. "Mia, Mia wake up and turn the ship! Turn the ship!"

Mia sat up and by instinct started grabbing the wheel. She turned the wheel sharply to her left as the Adepts all held their breaths. Fortunately, they had managed to pull into a huge opening, avoiding the collision. "That's what it was!"

"What is?" Ivan asked.

"That is what I was trying to remember. There is an ancient sailor's proverb-red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailor takes warning. I suspected that there was something strange going on. The mist tries to lure us to sleep, causing the ship to eventually sail pass this area or crash into the rocks. We were lucky that Garet woke us in time and that there was this opening." 

The opening, however, turned out to be more than an indentation among the rocky formation. It led the Adepts into a huge area that was free from mist but was filled with rapid currents, whirlpools, jagged rocks, and volcanoes. 

"Lemuria must be at the end of all this," Garet said.

"Only problem is how to reach the end of all this," Ivan replied.

"It shouldn't be too hard."

If only everything that should would happen. After much whirling and after being swept back into the sea, the Adepts realized just how hard the task was.

"It doesn't make any sense," Isaac groaned.

They had already attempted the watery puzzle several times, as well as sailing all around the surrounding rocky border. There was just no way in. The ship was now idly drifting along the rocky border as the Adepts pondered the situation they were in.

"I don't see any way in," Mia said. "We have already tried it several times. Nothing worked, not even Psynergy."

"And I don't know how much longer I could keep this shield up," Garet grumbled. "Maybe we should give up for now."

"You should never give up," the female voice chided.

"But you already said that you don't see any way in." 

"Garet, I wasn't the one talking," Mia quietly told the Mars Adept.

"Isaac, when did your voice started sounding like a girl's?"

Isaac smacked Garet across the head.

"OW!"

"Garet, _she_ was the one talking to us."

Garet turned to look in the direction Isaac was pointing to see a woman hovering by the ship.

"Is she… flying?"

Ivan shook his head. "Garet, look closely. She's being held up by water. She's just like…"

Just like Mia. Ivan didn't need to say it as the rest of the Adepts had already noticed the resemblance. Besides using Mercury Psynergy, the woman had bluish long hair with slight silver streaks and deep blue eyes that held a glint of silver that twinkled like a piece of foil caught in sunlight. "Did you want to reach Lemuria? There is an easy way there, but you'll have to come along with me. My name is Lynn."

Garet scowled. "Isaac, this is very suspicious. What if this woman is an illusion or some trap set up by the Lemurians? Remember, Picard warned us that looks can be deceiving."

"Picard?" the woman beamed happily. "You have met my son? Is he well?"

"Your… son?" Ivan repeated slowly. "Picard is your son?"

"He left a few days ago for Champa and hasn't returned yet. I hope he comes back soon."

"What do you think, Ivan?" Isaac asked.

"Well, she does not seem to be lying. We also don't have too many other choices."

"I say we follow her," Mia added.

"All right, Lynn. You said that you could take us to Lemuria, right?"

"Of course. You'll want to hurry because the mist will slowly wear away your shields."

"Wait, how are we going to get there?" Mia asked. "Lemuria must be within this rock border, but we couldn't navigate through the whirlpools and currents."

Lynn shrugged. "I don't know how to go through that way either. I never left Lemuria."

"Wait, if you never left Lemuria, how can you be right here before us?" Garet asked, confused.

A peal of tinkling laughter filled the air as Lynn smiled. "That is because I'm not physically here." She reached out to grab Isaac and Ivan and motioned to Garet and Mia to grab on. In a shimmer of lights, the Adepts disappeared from the misty border and reappeared in the middle of a green plaza.

"Welcome to Lemuria!"

_~To be continued in Chapter 6-LEMURIA_

A/N I don't think we ever learned Picard's mother's name, so I just used Lynn. She's not my character-I just named her and gave her a personality.


	7. Chapter 6 LEMURIA

**Disclaimer:** To see the full disclaimer, see the prelude. Golden Sun belongs to Camelot and Nintendo. This is a fanfiction, written solely for entertainment.

**Disclaimer #2/Warning: 4/17/04 **It has been brought to my attention that astral projection has been associated with witchcraft, and while it did not offend the reviewer, the reviewer was slightly uncomfortable with the topic. Although I think the reviewer misunderstood the meaning of astral projection, let me first deeply apologize to anyone I may have offended, as that was not my attention at all. I have done some small research into it to make sure that I did not incorrectly portray astral projection, and I have not seen it being associated with witchcraft or anything of the sort.  It is my fault, then, that a proper warning hasn't been given. However, this story and I, the author, are not trying to promote witchcraft or anything of the sort, nor am I attempting to press anything onto the reader. I reiterate that this is a fanfiction written solely for entertainment, and I enjoy using my creativity to connect all sorts of things together. Let me further warn that other ideas that may be associated with witchcraft might appear in other chapters, and if this makes you uncomfortable, you are certainly welcomed to stop reading this fanfiction. I again apologize for anyone I may have offended, and I thank you for having the patience to read this awfully long warning.

_ "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable."-Helen Keller_

Chapter 6. LEMURIA

"Welcome to Lemuria!"

The Adepts gaped as they looked all around them. Just a moment ago they were wandering around in the mist surrounding Lemuria, lost and confused. Then they met this Lemurian, Lynn, who suddenly brought them to Lemuria. They were no longer lost, but they were still greatly confused. 

"How is this possible?" Ivan said in amazement.

The Adepts turned around and around as they tried to take in everything. They appeared to be in the middle of a square. Up ahead they could see a fountain, and there were green grass and young trees all around them. Stone statues lined the walkway and there were small stone buildings. Somehow it all seemed to be too surreal, a quaint yet ancient and powerful civilization hidden within a giant patch of mist in the middle of the ocean. Even now wisps of the mist could still be seen in the air. This was the legendary Lemuria.

"How did we get here?" Mia asked, almost in disbelief.

"Silly, I brought you here," Lynn beamed.

"Yes, but how did you even know we were there? How did you bring us here?" 

"How did you all come here?" a voice asked.

"Picard!" Mia exclaimed as she turned around.

A worried looking, familiar blue haired Adept was walking up to them. "Hurry, you must all hide immediately! Quickly!" He began motioning for them to move away from the center of the plaza while Lynn gave them a small wave and wandered off.

"What's the rush, Picard?" Garet asked. 

There was no answer, but the concerned look never left Picard's face. Ivan exchanged a worried glance with Mia. Picard never looked this worried, not even when he was fighting the water birds back in Champa. His nervousness made the whole group feel edgy. Ivan felt relieved when the group finally approached the row of stone statues where a shadow was cast over them. 

"CLOAK!" 

Even before Picard could bat an eye, the group disappeared, blending in with the grass and statue. Only the slight indentation of the grass and the soft sound of breathing gave the group away. However, no one in Lemuria would pay attention to such details. Too caught up with the boredom of their lives, none of the Lemurian had even noticed that a group of strangers suddenly appeared in their town square. Relieved that a riot or panic hadn't started, Picard's face began to relax.

"What's wrong?" Mia asked softly.

"I thought someone was following me."

"Why would that matter?" 

"Picard!" an unfamiliar voice called.

Picard immediately tensed again as he turned around with a plastic smile on his face. "Lord Conservato! How are you today? Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?"

The balding man addressed as Lord Conservato only snorted as he adjusted the glasses perched on his small nose. "Lovely weather? What kind of fool do you take me to be, Picard? This is how the weather has been for countless years."

"A good thing, too, isn't it?" Picard replied soothingly.

"Didn't you hear me call you?" Lord Conservato asked angrily, stroking his graying beard.

"I must be growing old. I'm afraid my hearing is going."

"Ha! I already started growing this white hair before you were even born, lad. If you're old, what does that make me?"

Picard patted the slightly hunched over man soothingly. "There, there, Lord Conservato. It was a tasteless joke on my part. Why were you looking for me?"

"That's right-I heard from some of the palace servants that King Hydros has been talking to you about Alchemy again. You're still young, Picard. Don't let Hydros fool you with his nonsensical theories. After all, your father was a member of the Senate once. He wouldn't like these ideas that the king is throwing around. You understand, Picard?"

"Yes, I understand. I appreciate your concerns. Please, don't worry about me. I am very aware of the fact that what the king is talking about is just theories."

"Well, as long as you know that," Lord Conservato mumbled satisfactorily as he started to wander away.

When the old man wandered out of sight, Picard began to relax again. He was about to lean against the statue when he heard a noise.

"Ouch!" Garet exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I almost forgot that you were there," Picard apologized sheepishly. He thought he heard a soft, "yeah right" from someone and then an "ouch," but he must have imagined it.

"Is it safe to come out now?" Ivan asked quietly.

"Oh, yes, yes it is."

After not seeing the four Adepts for a while, Picard was almost alarmed to see them suddenly appear out of the shadows. They were all panting softly and fanning their faces.

"What's wrong?"

"How would you like to be crowded with three other people in a small area of shade and cannot breathe too loudly or move for five minutes?" Isaac asked wryly.

Picard made a face. "That doesn't sound very pleasant at all. I'm sorry to have kept you in such an uncomfortable situation. Why don't I make it up to you? My house is just ahead of us, and I'll have my mother make you something to drink and eat."

"Food?" Garet asked eagerly, his face lighting up.

"Yes, and you can be assured that the food won't be poisoned," Picard recalled amusingly.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Isaac grumbled as he started to follow Picard.

Ignoring Isaac, Picard repeated a question that he had asked earlier. "How did you all come here in the first place?"

"Why? Do you not want us to be here?"

"Oh no, it's not that all," Picard reassured the group. "I'm just… slightly surprised that you were able to enter Lemuria. I wasn't expecting you to be able to enter Lemuria, even though I told you how to reach here. No one has been able to enter here before. I didn't even think it was possible anymore for anyone except Lemurians to enter Lemuria."

"We were brought here by your mother," Mia answered softly. "Although we don't know how, either."

"Oh," Picard groaned softly as he rubbed his forehead. "My mother. She must have used Transport."

"Transport? As in teleportation?" Ivan asked with interest.

"No, no, Transport is slightly different. Transport is a rare Lemurian Psynergy that allows the user to move between places through water. My mother's Transport ability is really strong. She can astral project and travel to places where she physically cannot go, and as long as she is near water, she can Transport whatever she finds back to where her physical body."

"Astral project?" Garet asked, confused.

"Astral projection isn't Psynergy," Mia explained. "It's a situation where the conscious mind leaves the physical body and moves into what is called an astral body. The person is aware of everything that happens to the astral body and is connected to the astral body by a silver cord. Astral projection is one of those out-of-body experiences."

"I heard of cases where people had out-of-body experiences, but I never believed that they were true," Ivan said.

Picard laughed. "Every Lemurian tries to astral project at least once, and those that can are envied by the rest."

"Why is that so important here?"

"Why? The reason is simple-everyone wants to escape. No diseases, peace, and near-immortality. That all sounds great, doesn't it? There is no fear of dying and nothing to live for. What kind of existence is that? Everyone tries to astral project so that they can temporarily leave this island."

"If you want to leave, why don't you all just use Transport?" Isaac asked.

"It's not that easy," Picard said with a shake of the head. "The strength of Transport varies with each individual. Those who have Transport can only move to places that they have been to before. After so many years, we have lost contact with the outside world. The only place that we can go to is Champa, and you have seen the conditions there."

"Then sail away! Don't the Lemurians have excellent ships?"

Picard laughed bitterly. "Yes, we have the finest ships of all of Weyard. However, we cannot escape. You must have encountered the Sea of Times-that endless maze of whirlpools, volcanoes, and rocks." Seeing the group nod, he continued. "Just as you could not come in, we cannot get out. There is a monster that lies within the Sea. He was once our guardian, but he has turned into our jail keeper. Our bravest men tried to leave, but they now reside on the bottom of the ocean."

"I don't believe it. I don't believe that there isn't a way for you to leave."

"What are you talking about, Isaac?"

"If you really wanted to leave, Picard, if all of the Lemurians wanted to leave, if you wanted it enough, then you would have been able to find a way."

Picard stared at Isaac. "It isn't that easy."

"Then you don't want it enough," Isaac said softly. "Nothing worth having is ever easy. Your lives are easy so your lives are meaningless. To keep what is dear to you and to obtain what is important to you, you have to fight. If you can't stand up and fight, if you aren't strong enough to find the strength to fight, then you will lose everything."

Ivan glanced at Isaac, and without using Mind Read he knew what Isaac was talking about. Isaac had lowered his head, but Ivan could see the glimpses of teardrops. The death of his father occurred three years ago, but it was still a painful memory to Isaac. 'He still blames himself…'

Picard somehow understood as well, and he smiled sadly. "You're right, Isaac. I don't have the strength to fight. I don't want it enough."

A rather awkward silence hung in the air as the group slowly headed to a small stone building. Mia had walked closer to Isaac and clenched his hand tightly in a reassuring matter, but Isaac's words seemed to reverberate in the air. The Adepts all wondered silently just what they were fighting for and what was the meaning of their lives. 

"What a gloomy group you make," Lynn said with a frown at the doorway. "Picard, just what did you tell them?"

"Nothing, mother."

Lynn merely tsked and shook her head. "Well, then, don't just stand around. Take them to see King Hydros."

"What?" Picard asked in surprise.

"Are you deaf, boy? I said take them to go see King Hydros. I went to visit him while you were taking to them, and he wants to see our guests. Shoo! What are you waiting for? Go, go!" To emphasize her point, she shut the door firmly.

"Mothers!" Picard said in frustration. He was already storming off towards King Hydros's castle at a brisk pace, not caring that the Adepts had to rush to keep up with him. "They don't let you know anything before hand."

"Halt!" a guard called.

"Out of my way, I'm not in the mood to chat today," Picard snapped.

"State your business, Picard."

"I have guests that are here to see King Hydros."

"Yes, King Hydros did tell us to let them in," another guard said with a nod.

"All right, but mind your manners before the king," the guard warned the group.

Never had Isaac and his friends seen such splendor. Smooth tiles covered the floor in soft purples and pinks with a long red carpet laid across the center of the room. On either sides of the carpet were pots of fresh sweet-smelling flowers. Amazingly, there were also two pools of running water within the castle that flowed into the streams outside the building. Servants saw the group as they walked down the carpeted path and immediately started whispering and turning away.

"Never mind them," Picard told the Adepts. "They aren't used to seeing outsiders."

He had reached a delicately carved stone fountain and had taken one of the two flights of stairs that were on either side of it. There was another stairway that led them to another long red carpet.

"Halt, who goes there?" another guard called.

"Picard with the outsiders that King Hydros wanted to meet."

The guard nodded and allowed the group to pass. "Mind your-"

"-manners, yes we know," Picard said with a sigh.

"Picard, you are in an unpleasant mood today," a deep voice rumbled.

"King Hydros, these are the guests that you wanted to see," Picard said as he bowed.

The rest of the Adepts followed suit and bowed before the king, but Isaac had managed to catch a glimpse of the king. He was a stately figure with a prominent large nose, His hair was white like Lord Conservato as well, but while Lord Conservato's hair seemed old and limp, King Hydros's hair still had hints of blue and were still full of life. 

"So these are the people who have managed to enter Lemuria," he said with amusement. "Please, stand up. We have quite a bit to talk about."

"Then, if I may have your permission," Picard began.

"Yes, Picard, you may leave. Come back in half an hour to take your guests back."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Half an hour?" Garet nearly whined. "What are we going to be talking about?"

The Adepts looked horrified at Garet's outburst, but King Hydros merely laughed. "You're right. What are we going to talk about? I do not know anything about you four mysterious people that suddenly appeared. I don't even know your names."

"My name is Garet," Garet offered. Pointing out the rest of the group, he continued with the brief introduction. "These are my friends Isaac, Ivan, and Mia."

"I see. So why have you been seeking for Lemuria? I doubt that you are here for any personal reasons."

Garet nearly wanted to cry when he heard the question. The time it took for them to tell the story of their quests grew longer with each time they had to explain it. They could be here forever. King Hydros must have sensed the anxiousness Garet felt because he had sent his servants for some food and comfortable cushions to sit on. With these comforts given to him, Garet could relax while the rest retold their tales. 

"That is quite a story," King Hydros finally said at the end of the group's narration. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that your search for Lemuria will yield nothing."

"What do you mean?" Mia asked.

"We no longer have any of the draught that you seek for. We used to bottle these special draughts so that we could travel throughout Weyard, but Babi stole the remainder of the draughts. It is also the real reason why the Lemurians are trapped within this island. Without draughts, all of our people will soon die off. Our life spans are considerably shorter than the life spans of others. Isn't that ironic? On an island where death is a special occasion, the fear of death never leaves. It is the same reason why Babi is desperately trying to search for more draughts."

"That doesn't make sense," Ivan said slowly. "How can you not have any more draught? All of the Lemurians on this island are still near immortal, aren't they? So how can you not have any draught?"

"We don't drink a draught. The waters on this island restore our vigor and vitality and can grant full immortality. However, once you leave the island, you see mists. You can even see some of the mist on this island. Once these waters leave the island, they become mist and have the opposite effect. Instead of restoring vigor and vitality, they reverse them until you are as helpless as an infant. The combination of the two working at the same time is what prolongs our life and gives us near immortality."

"That explains what happened back on the ship," Mia agreed. "But then how did you make the draught before?"

"The secret of the draught was given to us by a foreigner many years ago. He had made many bottles of draughts, and we used to have storerooms filled with draughts. However, he passed away without leaving the secret behind."

"So then we aren't going to be able to help Lord Babi," Garet said.

"Actually, there is another place that you can try to find the draught."

"There is? Where?" Ivan asked in surprise. "I'm surprised Lord Babi hadn't found out about it."

"The foreigner brought us the secret of the draught from his homeland. You can go there to learn more."

"Where was he from?" Isaac asked.

"He came from the Moon."

"The Moon!?"

_~To be continued in Chapter 7-Appearances_

A/N: I'll give you an invisible penny if you can guess who said "Yeah right" and then "Ouch." You can have an invisible nickel if you can guess why the person said "Ouch." ^v^ By the way, I got the information about astral projection from the web. Yes, well May is coming soon, and that is my Dooms-month because I have a lot of exams during the first two weeks of May. Unfortunately, that means that even though I have the next chapter pretty much all planned out, I won't have much time to write until after all that exams are over. Thank you all for understanding!

~mangazgal


	8. Chapter 7 APPEARANCES

**Disclaimer:** To see the full disclaimer, see the prelude. Golden Sun belongs to Camelot and Nintendo. This is a fanfiction, written solely for entertainment.

A/N: I'm very sorry about the lack of updates recently. You'll think that during the summer I would have more free time, but because I'm going to be a senior in high school, I have all this college related stuff that I need to do, a job, and volunteer work. Updates will be slow for a while, but please keep checking back!

Also, since the chapter is really late, I didn't really have a chance to edit it. Please alert me if you find any mistakes and I'll be much obliged! I also tried to make the format easier to read. However, the preview is all funky so I'm not too sure how well it came out. I'm hoping for the best!

Oh, and Isaac was the one who said "Yeah right," and Mia poked him. Yuja answered both questions correctly, so you get six invisible cents! Yeah, congrats!

_"For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearances, as though they were realities, and are often more influenced by the things that seem than by those that are."-Niccolo Machiavelli_

Chapter 7. APPEARANCES

"The Moon!?" the Adepts exclaimed unanimously.

King Hydros smiled at the Adepts' surprise. "Yes, the Moon. However, it's not the celestial object that revolves around our world."

"Then what are you referring to?" Garet asked.

"I'm sure that you have seen much before coming to Lemuria, but there is still much for you to see in this world. If you had ventured to the Great Western Sea and had visited the island Atteka, you would have learned about a city called Anemos."

"What is special about this city?" Ivan asked.

"Anemos is a civilization just as advanced as Lemuria. However, the city lifted off the ground and flew away."

"What?" Mia exclaimed incredulously. "Why? How is that possible?"

"Surely you have all realized that anything is possible?" King Hydos said with a small smile.

"So why tell us this?" Isaac asked dryly. "You want us to do something for you, right?"

"Impertinence!" a guard yelled as he rushed forward. "How dare you-"

King Hydros waved the guard aside. "No, Isaac is right. I have a favor to ask. Because I cannot leave the island, please go in my place to the Moon in order to find someone and deliver a message for me."

Isaac looked at the king warily while the other three eyed each other uneasily.

"You have already heard our story," Isaac said, "and you're aware of the time constraint that we're under. Of course, we will need to go to the Moon to find a draught and fulfill our promise to Lord Babi, but why do you still ask us to deliver some message for you?"

"I'm very aware, Isaac, that you will not go anywhere that does not hold anything of value to you. However, there is something there that I know will aid you greatly in your quest."

"Why are you all so solemn?" Picard asked as he collected the dishes. "Did King Hydros tell you anything important?"

"Yes," Ivan said thoughtfully, sipping his tea. "You could say that."

Picard nodded, waiting for more. However, Ivan fell silent along with the rest of the group. Trying again, he asked, "Are you planning to set sail soon?"

"Tomorrow," Garet said.

"You don't intend to stay for awhile?" Picard asked surprised. "After trying so hard to come to Lemuria?"

"Lemuria no longer has what we're looking for," Mia replied. "We must now head towards a place of jumping illustrious items."

Picard blinked. "A place of jumping illustrious items? Er, whatever for?"

"To find what can be found," Isaac said cryptically.

"Don't keep bothering them," Lynn scolded as she poured some more tea for Mia. "They need to rest soon if they plan to leave early tomorrow."

"Yes, mother," Picard said, leaving the room to do the dishes.

"Are you and Picard the only two living here?" Mia asked.

"Hmm?" Lynn said distractedly. "No, my younger brother lives here, too. I kicked him out for the night, though. Otherwise there won't be any room for all of you to stay."

"That wouldn't be a bother, would it?" Ivan asked, alarmed.

"No, no. Mia can stay with me, Garet with Picard, and Isaac and Ivan can take my brother's room."

"Thank you so much, Lynn. You have done a lot for us."

"It's not a problem." About to say more, Lynn started coughing.

"Is there something wrong?" Garet asked. "Should I get Picard?"

Lynn tried to shake her head, but the coughing had caused her whole frame to tremble. Garet was about to leave when she grabbed his hand. "Don't… don't tell him. He has enough to worry about."

A soft blue light filled the room as Mia rubbed small circles on Lynn's back. "Hold on, Lynn. This should quell your cough for a while."

Eventually, the cough faded as Mia escorted Lynn to the seat Isaac was offering. Lynn leaned back against the chair as she took several deep breaths.

"Are you ill?" Ivan asked.

"But I thought that there was no sickness on Lemuria," Garet said.

"It's true that there are no sickness," Lynn said. "However, I had a weak constitution since I was a little girl. Also, I experienced some personal shocks recently, so my condition has been growing worse."

"Is there something we can do for you?" Mia asked.

"Yes," Lynn said. "Tell my son I love him."

"There's something strange going on between Picard and Lynn," Mia said. After Lynn assured them that they were fine, she sent them off for a hot bath and a change of clothes. Now the Adepts had gathered in the hallway for a private discussion. "Their relationship is a bit strained for a mother and son."

"Perhaps it is because Lynn is not well," Isaac said softly. "Mothers behave differently when they fall ill."

Garet glanced at his friend's face and knew what Isaac was referring to. "Isaac, Dora and Lynn are both strong women. They'll both be fine."

"Why would Lynn ask us to tell Picard that she loves him, though?" Ivan wondered.

"I think the Lemurians are all hiding something," Isaac said.

"Hiding what?" Picard asked as he poked his head through the doorway. Seeing the alarmed faces of the Adepts, he apologized. "I didn't mean to intrude, but you guys should start going to bed soon."

"Of course," Mia said. "We do need to get up early tomorrow. Sleep well everybody."

"We better head in, too," Ivan agreed. "Goodnight."

"Night," Isaac said simply.

"G'nite," Garet replied as he joined Picard.

"I'm afraid the floor may not be too comfortable."

"No problem, Picard. A couple of blankets and a pillow and I'll be fine. It's better than sleeping outside with monsters, that's for sure," Garet said as he plopped down.

"If you need anything, just wake me up," Picard said with a yawn as he stretched out on his bed.

Garet was about to drift off amidst the sounds of Picard's slight snore and the occasional groaning of the springs when he noticed a slight change. The snores disappeared and the springs delighted in the lightening of their load as feet hit the ground. Trying to peer through his eyelashes, Garet could sense that Picard was nearby.

"Are you awake, Garet?" Picard said in a breathy tone. "No? Good."

Counting slowly to three, Garet sprung out of his bed. He opened the door with caution as he peered down the hall to see Picard turn the corner. Aware that something strange was going on, Garet followed him as quietly as he could.

'Where is he going?' Garet wondered as he left the house.

Picard had veered to the western side of the city as he headed toward a rectangular stately building. Shivering slightly, Garet felt the tendrils of mist curling around him. Debating whether he should return to fetch a robe, he noticed a sign with the word "Senate." The word already brought back the images of the elderly old man that had bothered Picard earlier. He immediately concluded that Lord Conservato was pestering Picard again. If he did, Garet was prepared to step in to help Picard out, forgetting about the robe as he crept into the chilly, stately building.

"Good evening, Lord Conservato. And for what reason did you summon me here?" Picard asked smoothly.

"Cut the act, Kaolin (1)," the familiar voice growled.

'Kaolin?' Garet thought bemusedly. 'Why would he call Picard that?'

Garet paused in the doorway as he peered into a smaller room. The only light cast in the room was provided from a small fire across the hall. Although dim, he could make out the figures of Picard and the senator standing by a table.

"Tired of me being Picard… Father?" the boy laughed. Garet nearly goggled when he removed his hair.

'A… wig? Father? This boy is Conservato's son, but why would he pose as Picard?'

"What did you learn?" Lord Conservato asked, refusing to take Kaolin's bait.

"Is that all you see me as?" Kaolin snarled. "An informant who pretends to be your best friend's son?"

"What did you learn?" Lord Conservato repeated firmly. "What are those outsiders doing?"

"They didn't say very clearly," Kaolin muttered. "They were speaking in riddles. They're leaving tomorrow, headed for some 'place of jumping illustrious items,' looking for 'what can be found.'"

"Place of jumping illustrious items?" Lord Conservato pondered deeply. "Leaping stars? There are several cities known for creating imitation stars, but which one would it be? What are they looking for? Are they headed for Astraia (2) where the songs sing of the city's 'open secret' wealth of embedded jems in the streets?"

"Those places don't exist anymore," Kaolin scoffed. "King Hydros said-"

"You believe what King Hydros said?" Lord Conservato sneered.

"None of us could visit any of those civilizations anymore," Kaolin argued. "Don't you wonder why? They must have disappeared, just like King-"

"Don't you DARE mention Hydros! That worthless king brainwashed my best friend into leading a group of men to fight against Neptune, and now he is dead! He was almost my brother, the only family I have left!"

"The only family you have left?" Kaolin said in disbelief. "What do you call me then? Do you despise me because Mother was arranged to be your wife and you couldn't marry your sweetheart? Is that it? Is it?"

"You are to foil the plan of Hydros and those outsiders," Lord Conservato said calmly, ignoring his son's outburst. "Make the plan look like a plot against Lemuria. Once Hydros is out of the way, I will become the king."

Garet stepped back in alarm. King Hydros's words came back to him. There was something that would aid him greatly, and, if Lord Conservato's plan succeeded, he would lose the chance of gaining it. He had to report this to King Hydros right away. Garet turned heel to run for the palace, but in his haste he forgot about the fire in the hall. His movement created a shadow that fell into the room, alerting Lord Conservato and Kaolin of his presence.

"Intruder!" Lord Conservato croaked. "Stop him!"

A hitch in his throat, Garet dashed through the hallway as he fled from the senate building. He didn't bother to look behind him to see if Kaolin was following him as he headed for the stately palace. Before he even passed Lynn's house, however, he felt himself fall as someone, most likely Kaolin, tackled him to the floor. The two grappled as they struggled on the dewy grass.

"Why do you listen to him?" Garet hissed.

"What else can I do?" Kaolin countered.

The two drew apart as they got to their feet. However, Garet barely stood up when Kaolin charged at him. Stepping aside, Garet threw a punch. Kaolin saw Garet's arm draw back, but he didn't have time to stop running or move aside. Instead, he had to lean back, feeling himself slide underneath Garet's outstretched arm.

"Stop listening to your father and be your own man!" Garet answered Kaolin's question.

Angry, Kaolin flipped up and swung his leg around to knock it into Garet's face. Forced backwards, Garet felt a groan escape his mouth as he crashed into the wall. Kaolin flew back as Garet delivered a swift kick to the stomach, bringing his head to rub his throbbing head.

"That hurts!"

"Garet? What are you doing up at this hour?" Ivan yawned as he appeared at the window.

"Ivan, watch out! Picard is actually Lord Conservato's son Kaolin dressed up as Picard in order to spy on King Hydros! I saw him take off a wig in the senate building tonight as he was talking to lord Conservato," Garet blurted out. "And Lord Conservato's planning to take the throne!"

Ivan blinked. "Did I miss something? Am I dreaming all this up?"

"You drew more people into this," Kaolin growled. "Now I will have no choice but to kill all of you! DELUGE!"

"Deluge?" Garet winced as he recalled the deadly flood attack Mia often used.

"Move, Garet, you dunce! GLACIER!"

Standing before him, Mia had her arms stretched out above her head, creating a glacial shield above them as giant water bubbles crashed down from above. Next to him, Garet saw Isaac ready with his sword and Ivan holding up his staff.

"I thought you were dreaming," Garet muttered.

"I could be, but even if it's a dream I'll still help you when you're in a tight spot," Ivan grinned. "Release ZEPHYR!"

"So all of your friends are gathered together. How nauseating!" Kaolin spat. "ICE HORN!"

"QUAKE SPHERE!" Isaac shouted.

Columns of earth began to quake before the Adepts as they randomly rose and fell, catching the spikes of ice. As the earth stilled, Ivan dashed forward, heading towards Kaolin.

"Are you planning to hit me with that staff?" Kaolin sneered as he leapt backwards.

"No," Ivan smirked as he rejoined the group. "I just took a souvenir."

"What is going on here, Kaolin?" a voice boomed.

"King Hydros, what are you doing here?" Mia asked surprised.

"Your ruckus woke Lynn up, and she came looking for me. I immediately rushed over." Walking towards the group, King Hydros frowned as he noted the longhaired wig in Ivan's hands. "Posing as Picard, fighting with our guests, and disturbing the peace. Do you have an explanation for this?"

"King Hydros! You're the cause of my misery!" Kaolin cried angrily, frustrated to feel hot tears run down his face. Furiously wiping his face, he lunged towards the king with a small knife in his hand.

"FLARE WALL!"

A wall of fire appeared between Kaolin and King Hydros, causing Kaolin to stop his assault.

"Don't do it," Garet told Kaolin softly. "You'll regret it."

"I'll regret not killing this man!" Kaolin shouted angrily, gesturing wildly at the king. "He ruined my life! Father always told me how much Picard resembled his father and how Picard was better than me. He never paid attention to me until one day when I mimicked the king for fun. Father laughed and praised me. Picard was no actor. I found my place to shine. Things were turning better until Picard's father died. Then all Father wanted was for me to imitate Picard. I didn't understand why the praises stopped and the smiles disappeared until one day, he simply said, 'Picard, it's time to go to bed.' He could never have his best friend back, so instead, he wanted me to become the younger version of his friend-Picard. This would never have happened if you haven't sent Picard's father on a suicide mission!"

King Hydros bowed his head. "You blame me for the death of Picard's father. I blame myself as well for not stopping him when he volunteered to lead men in escaping the island. Picard's father was one of my closest supporters once he heard my reasons. Unfortunately, your father believed that I brainwashed him. However, Kaolin, I didn't ask your father to behave the way he did."

"Stop trying to be what your father wants," Garet spoke up. "You're not his puppet. Don't let your father…" Garet paused and stole a glance at Isaac before continuing, "or the memory of your father keep you from living your own life."

"It isn't easy!" Kaolin said.

Garet was about to continue when he saw Isaac step forward with a small smile. Repeating the words he said earlier but with a different meaning, Isaac said softly. " Nothing worth having is ever easy."

"Good morning King Hydros!" Garet said happily with a great big yawn.

"Good morning, Garet. I am glad that yesterday's event hasn't affected your cheery personality."

Garet sobered as he recalled last night's events. "Speaking of yesterday's event… What did you do with Kaolin?"

King Hydros sighed deeply. "What his father was planning and what he was doing were treasonous acts. The price of treason is death."

"You can't kill him!" Garet blurted out.

"Technically, I can and by the law I would be justified in doing so."

"Yes, but… it's not right."

"Which is why Kaolin is now serving an one hundred year sentence in jail."

"One hundred years?" Garet exclaimed.

"It'll pass by as if it were nothing," King Hydros assured him.

"Then what did you do with Lord Conservato? I think his head should be loped off," Garet growled.

"Do you think so?" King Hydros said absentmindedly. "He has considerable power in Lemuria, considering he is the head of the senate. I can not deal with him as easily as I can with his son."

"So you're letting him roam free?"

"Without his son obeying his commands, he should be fairly harmless."

"King Hydros, I was looking for you. I never had a chance to ask you last night. How did you know Kaolin was posing as Picard?" Ivan asked as he walked up behind the two.

"Ah, Ivan, you scared me. Don't sneak up like that," Garet complained. "And what do you mean how does he know? Lynn saw what was going on and told him."

Ivan shook his head. "For two people who discovered that the person they trusted and love was actually a fake, they didn't seem to be too surprised. I could understand if Lynn knew because mothers are aware of such things. Of course, we haven't met Picard, so maybe Kaolin's disguise was flawed…"

"No, the disguise was very well done," King Hydros said. "Kaolin even fashioned golden lenses to cover up his blue eyes. You have all met Picard on Champa, so I'm sure you're notice how much the fake looked like the real one."

"How can you be so sure we actually met the real Picard?" Isaac asked as he ambled into the room. "I overheard you talking, and after last night, I'm not so sure anymore what's real and what's not."

King Hydros laughed. "That's because you told me that he had a Djinni. Only the real Picard has a Djinni. I wasn't just recently aware that there was an imposter. I haven't been king for that long to not notice these things. Secrets get out, the senate was aware of what I was going to talk about, things like that suggested a spy of some sort. So Picard, his family, and I had arranged for a code."

"Good morning everyone. What code?" Mia greeted the group.

"My, am I telling you all a story?" King Hydros laughed as he glanced around the group. "You're all here. A code was created so that the imposter and the real Picards could be distinguished. The code word was Piers."

"Piers? The thing at a harbor?" Ivan asked, furrowing his forehead.

"No, Piers was the name of Picard's… father."

Mia gasped. "Why would he… why would he do that?"

"Why? Surely you can think of several reasons why."

"The name Piers would not arouse too much suspicion if it appears in a conversation," Ivan said thoughtfully. "After all, Piers was Picard's father as well as one of your closer Senator."

"That's the main reason," King Hydros agreed. "But there is a symbolic reason as well."

"He's finishing the task that his father set out to do," Isaac said softly.

"You're right. At the time he met you, we were already discussing ways for him to leave the island. He must have trusted you all greatly if he told you his real name. Picard is a very clever boy. The only reason he would possibly give you his real name was if he believed that you would arrive at Lemuria and resolve the spying issue. He gave you his name so that if you meet the spy, you would not be alarmed. However, he guessed that you would figure out that there was something strange about the spy and would catch him."

"'Looks can be deceiving, (3)'" Mia gasped. "He was already warning us then."

"Everything is now all wrapping up," Garet sighed happily. "Less things to worry about."

"There's one more thing," Mia brought up. "Why would Lynn ask us to tell Picard that she loves him?"

The jovial face disappeared as King Hydros shook his head sadly. "Lynn is afraid that she will not make it by the time Picard returns to us. You see, this trip to Champa was a bit different. It was not a planned trip. Rather, Picard was on a ship, preparing for his attempt to leave the island. At that time, there was a strange tidal wave. As a result, he and his ship escaped the island."

"There was no other boat but ours at Champa," Isaac frowned.

King Hydros looked alarmed. "Then that means he must have used Transport to seek out Champa in hopes of learning more about where he had landed. If he was in a fight as well, he must have been drained when he returned back to his ship, possibly even unconscious."

"Should we… look for him?" Ivan asked hesitantly.

"No," King Hydros said firmly. "You have your own quest, and he has his. Just don't let Lynn know about this. She has received quite a shock when her son went missing after the tidal wave, and with her weak heart, I don't think she could live through another one so soon."

"Of course," Mia said softly. "Is there something we… something that I can do to help?"

King Hydros smiled kindly. "I am very aware of your excellent healing abilities, Mia, but this is something beyond the power of Psynergy. Please be assured that she will be taken cared of. Finish what you have all started."

"Yes, that's true. We need to set out soon," Isaac nodded.

"We must seek out a place of jumping illustrious items and find what can be found," Garet mulled.

"We will try to deliver your message as well," Ivan added.

"I'm sure you will. One of my guards will help Transport you out. For now, Adepts, I wish you fair speed and good luck."

Watching the Adepts leave, King Hydros felt someone approach him. "King Hydros, why did you not tell them about… about everything?"

"No, now is not the time. That was Picard's judgment as well as mine. Right now, their paths do not coincide with Picard's. If I tell them all we know, they will doubt our words and not listen to another word we say. However, if I judged them well enough, once they learn more, hopefully their paths will all be one to help restore our world. Don't you agree that would be much better, Lunpa?"

_To be continued in Chapter 8-NYMPH_

(1) Kaolin is actually a type of clay. When I was trying to think of a proper name for him, I was trying to come up with a name that showed how well he could imitate others, but really, I didn't want to call him something like Mime or Mirror or Shadow. Then I came across this word, and not only does it look and sound like it could be a name, but it also describes him pretty well. As clay, he could take the shape of something else but he'll only be an imitation. Also, like clay, he is easily molded into something else by his father.

(2) Astraia is Greek derived from the Greek aster meaning "star." I got that information off of a meaning behind the name website on line. I really couldn't think of a more interesting name.

(3) That was what Picard told them way back in chapter 4 (you know you want to go back and read it again ).

One last thing, I'm sure you're all speculating just where the heck the Adepts are going (and if you're not, I failed as a writer to absorb you T.T), but please keep all your speculations to yourself… or e-mail them to me if you really want to. Just don't leave them in your reviews. I'm sure some of you will figure it out in no time, but once someone does, it'll be obvious to everyone else that you're right. So please the other readers and let people figure it out by themselves or hopefully be surprised when the Adepts get there. Thank you!


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